Are You Able to Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Creation Which Forged the Contemporary Globe
There are numerous candidates to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, however, that honor should go to a automated timber mill conceived by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around 10 sawyers laboring over 90 days,” writes the author. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of processed timber could be produced in less than seven days.”
Thanks to this speedy mechanical cutter, that converted logs to boards with virtually no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Dutch maritime, economic as well as artistic supremacy across Europe and the world.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s first authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed its rotary movement to vertical motion to power the saw. Another component transformed that same spinning motion into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the wood forward one precise increment each stroke.
“Each element seemed simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them in order that they acted within a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every descending stroke while moving on every upward motion. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. The task is for you to reimagine one of the basic ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Round and Up
Design a machine which converts circular movement to vertical action. You have these items only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or housing into which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Consider that you can mount components on a stand, so that the components do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK time featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) candidates for the planet’s greatest creation.
