Can You Solve This? That Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Modern World
One can find many contenders for the title of “world’s most significant invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, though, that title belongs to a mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a simple trading ship necessitated approximately ten sawyers working for three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of processed timber could be produced within a week.”
Thanks to their rapid automated cutter, which turned logs into planks with almost no manual labor, the Dutch could construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed a century of Dutch naval, financial and cultural supremacy in the continent and the globe.
The First True Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's sawmill, contends the writer, was “humanity’s first authentic factory machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed the circular motion to vertical motion for the saw. Another component transformed the spinning motion into a sideway’s movement advancing the log toward the cutter. A geared mechanism moved the wood ahead a measured step each stroke.
“Each element was simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to integrate them so they operated within a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every downward motion while moving with each return motion. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental components.”
A fact that leads us to today’s challenge. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine which converts circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve through which one of the rods will fit snugly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a base, so the parts do not fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s greatest invention.