Can You Crack This? That Forgotten Netherlands Creation Which Shaped the Modern Globe
There are many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a recent publication, however, that title belongs to a automated timber mill conceived by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, constructing a simple trading ship necessitated approximately ten sawyers laboring over 90 days,” writes the author. “Using wind-driven sawmills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be manufactured within a week.”
Owing to this speedy automated saw, that converted timber to planks with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders could build ships more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, economic and artistic dominance in Europe and the globe.
The First Genuine Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, was “humanity’s first authentic industrial machine.” A windmill rotated a wheel. One component converted its circular motion to up-and-down action for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed the spinning motion into a lateral movement feeding the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log forward a measured step each stroke.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to integrate them in order that they acted within a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every descending motion and moving with each return stroke. This constituted an astonishingly intelligent use of basic components.”
A fact that leads us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the basic concepts behind this historic invention.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns circular movement into up-and-down action. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a base, so that the parts don’t fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the solution.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates for the world’s greatest creation.
