Are You Able to Solve It? The Forgotten Dutch Creation Which Forged our Contemporary World
There are many contenders for the title of “planet’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, though, that title should go to the automated sawmill invented through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Before automated cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated around ten lumberjacks working over three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of processed timber could be produced within a week.”
Owing to this speedy automated saw, which turned timber to planks using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships faster than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch naval, economic and cultural supremacy across Europe and the world.
The First Genuine Industrial Machine
The inventor's sawmill, contends Dávila, was “humanity’s initial authentic industrial apparatus.” A windmill rotated a gear. A single part converted the circular motion into vertical motion for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed that same rotary movement into a lateral movement advancing the log toward the cutter. A geared mechanism moved the log forward a measured step per stroke.
“Each element seemed modest on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate these parts in order that the machine acted within a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every descending motion and moving on every upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever use of basic parts.”
A fact that leads us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the basic concepts behind this historic invention.
Round and Up
Construct a mechanism which converts rotary motion to up-and-down motion. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or housing into which a single the rods will fit snugly. (Assume you can mount components on a base, so that the parts do not fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s greatest creation.
