Can You Solve It? That Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Shaped the Contemporary Globe
There are many contenders to claim the title of “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, however, that title should go to a automated timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, building a simple merchant vessel required around 10 sawyers working over 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, the same quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within a week.”
Owing to this rapid automated cutter, that turned logs to boards with almost no manual labor, the Dutch were able to construct vessels faster compared to any other nation, which unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands maritime, economic as well as cultural supremacy in the continent and the world.
The Original Genuine Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A windmill turned a wheel. One component converted its rotary movement to up-and-down action for the saw. Another component changed the rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the blade. A ratchet system moved the wood forward a measured step per cycle.
“Each element was simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius lay in how to integrate these parts in order that they operated within a precisely synchronized sequence, cutting on every downward stroke while advancing on every return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental components.”
A fact that brings us up to the current puzzle. The task is you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts behind this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine which converts circular movement to up-and-down motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the rods can slide snugly. (Assume you can mount components on a base, so that the components do not fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK time featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to propose (non obvious) contenders for the world’s most impactful creation.