Are You Able to Solve This? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Modern World
There are many contenders for the title of “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a recent publication, though, that honor should go to a automated timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, building a simple trading ship necessitated around ten sawyers laboring over three months,” notes the author. “With wind-driven sawmills, the same amount of processed timber might be manufactured in less than a week.”
Thanks to this speedy automated saw, that converted logs into boards with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build ships more quickly compared to anyone else, which unleashed a century of Dutch maritime, economic as well as cultural dominance in the continent and the world.
The First Genuine Industrial Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, was “humanity’s initial true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted the rotary motion to up-and-down action to power the saw. Another component transformed the rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step each stroke.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them in order that the machine operated within a precisely synchronized order, cutting with each descending motion and moving with each return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”
Which brings us to the current puzzle. The task is you to reinvent one of the basic concepts behind this historic invention.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism which converts rotary movement to vertical motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a base, so the parts do not collapse.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s most impactful invention.