Are You Able to Crack It? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Contemporary Globe
There are numerous candidates for the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, though, that title belongs to the automated timber mill conceived through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, building a simple trading ship required approximately 10 lumberjacks working for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”
Thanks to this rapid automated cutter, that turned timber to boards with almost no human effort, the Dutch could build vessels faster than anyone else, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as cultural dominance in Europe and the globe.
The Original True Industrial Machine
The inventor's sawmill, argues the writer, was “mankind’s first true industrial machine.” A windmill turned a gear. One component transformed the circular motion into vertical motion for the cutting blade. Another component changed that same spinning movement into a lateral movement advancing the timber to the blade. A geared mechanism moved the log ahead a measured step per cycle.
“Every component was simple by itself. The Dutchman’s genius was to integrate these parts in order that the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing with each descending stroke and moving with each upward motion. It was a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to today’s challenge. The task is you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Design a machine which converts rotary movement to vertical action. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or housing into which one of the bars can slide snugly. (Consider that you can put things on a stand, so that the parts do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK with the answer.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to propose (less celebrated) candidates as the world’s most impactful creation.
