Are You Able to Crack It? That Overlooked Netherlands Creation Which Shaped our Modern Globe
There are many candidates to claim the designation as “world’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, however, that honor belongs to the automated sawmill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel required around 10 sawyers laboring for 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-driven lumber mills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be manufactured in less than a week.”
Owing to their speedy mechanical saw, which converted timber to planks with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch could construct vessels more quickly than any other nation, which sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic and cultural dominance across Europe and the world.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends Dávila, was “mankind’s first authentic industrial machine.” A wind turbine rotated a wheel. One component transformed its circular movement into vertical action to power the saw. Another component changed that same rotary movement into a lateral motion feeding the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the wood forward one precise increment per cycle.
“Every component was modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate these parts so they operated within a precisely synchronized order, cutting with each downward motion and moving on every return stroke. This constituted a remarkably intelligent use of basic components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. The task is for you to reimagine a key the basic ideas behind this historic invention.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism which converts circular motion to vertical motion. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a tube or housing into which a single the bars will fit snugly. (Assume you can mount components on a base, so the components do not fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to propose (less celebrated) contenders as the planet’s most impactful invention.