Are You Able to Crack This? The Forgotten Dutch Creation Which Shaped our Contemporary World
One can find numerous contenders for the designation as “world’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a recent publication, however, that title belongs to a mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a simple trading ship necessitated approximately ten lumberjacks laboring for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven lumber mills, the same amount of processed timber could be manufactured in less than a week.”
Owing to their speedy automated cutter, which turned logs into planks with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build vessels faster compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch naval, economic and artistic supremacy in Europe and the globe.
The Original True Industrial Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s initial true industrial machine.” A wind turbine rotated a wheel. One component transformed its circular movement to up-and-down motion for the saw. A separate mechanism changed that same spinning motion into a lateral movement advancing the log to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment per stroke.
“Every component seemed simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius lay in how to integrate these parts in order that the machine acted in a perfectly controlled order, cutting with each descending motion and advancing with each upward motion. It was a remarkably clever use of basic components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. The task is for you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine that turns circular motion to vertical action. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Consider that you can mount components on a base, so that the components do not collapse.)
I’ll be back later today UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest creation.