Are You Able to Solve This? The Overlooked Dutch Creation Which Shaped our Contemporary World
There are numerous contenders to claim the title of “planet’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a new book, however, that title belongs to a automated sawmill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around ten lumberjacks laboring for three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of cut lumber might be manufactured within a week.”
Owing to this rapid mechanical saw, that turned timber to boards with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Netherlands naval, financial and cultural dominance across the continent and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s first authentic industrial machine.” A windmill turned a gear. One component transformed the rotary movement into vertical motion for the saw. A separate mechanism changed the rotary motion into a sideway’s movement feeding the timber toward the blade. A ratchet system shifted the wood forward one precise increment each stroke.
“Each element was modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate these parts so the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, cutting on every downward stroke while advancing with each return stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever use of basic components.”
A fact that leads us up to today’s puzzle. The task is for you to reinvent one of the basic concepts behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Construct a mechanism that turns circular movement into vertical motion. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the bars will fit snugly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the components don’t fall down.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest creation.
