Can You Solve It? That Forgotten Dutch Invention That Forged the Modern World
One can find many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a new book, though, that honor should go to a mechanised timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, constructing a simple trading ship required around ten lumberjacks working over three months,” notes the author. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within a week.”
Owing to this rapid automated cutter, that turned timber into boards with almost no human effort, Dutch builders could build ships faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Dutch naval, financial and cultural dominance across the continent and the world.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends the writer, was “humanity’s initial authentic industrial machine.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. A single part transformed the rotary motion to up-and-down action for the saw. Another component changed that same rotary movement into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the blade. A geared mechanism moved the log forward a measured step each cycle.
“Each element was modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to combine them in order that they acted in a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every descending motion while advancing with each upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly intelligent use of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reinvent one of the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Round and Up
Construct a mechanism which converts circular movement to vertical motion. You have these items only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the rods will fit snugly. (Assume you can put things on a base, so the components don’t fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK time featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest invention.
