Are You Able to Solve It? That Forgotten Dutch Invention That Forged our Modern Globe
There are numerous contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, however, that honor should go to the mechanised timber mill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, building a simple trading ship required around 10 sawyers laboring over 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of processed timber might be produced within seven days.”
Owing to this rapid mechanical cutter, that converted logs into boards with almost no manual labor, the Dutch could construct ships faster than any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch naval, economic and cultural dominance in the continent and the world.
The Original True Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial authentic industrial machine.” A windmill turned a gear. One component transformed its rotary movement to vertical action for the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed that same rotary movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the timber toward the blade. A ratchet system shifted the wood forward a measured step per cycle.
“Every component seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius lay in how to integrate these parts in order that they operated in a perfectly controlled order, cutting on every downward stroke while advancing on every return motion. This constituted an astonishingly intelligent use of basic parts.”
Which leads us to today’s challenge. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the fundamental ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism which converts circular motion to vertical action. You have these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can mount components on a stand, so that the parts don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to propose (non obvious) candidates as the planet’s most impactful invention.