🔗 Share this article Are You Able to Crack It? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention Which Shaped our Contemporary World There are numerous contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor. According to a recent publication, however, that honor belongs to a automated sawmill conceived by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593. “Prior to mechanised sawing, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks working for 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-powered sawmills, the same quantity of processed timber could be manufactured within a week.” Owing to their rapid mechanical cutter, which turned timber to boards using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch could build vessels more quickly compared to anyone else, which unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as cultural supremacy across the continent and the world. The First Genuine Manufacturing Machine The inventor's sawmill, contends Dávila, represented “mankind’s initial authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a wheel. One component transformed its circular movement to vertical action for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed that same spinning motion into a sideway’s motion advancing the log toward the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log forward one precise increment per cycle. “Each element was simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to integrate these parts so the machine operated in a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing with each descending stroke and advancing with each upward motion. This constituted an astonishingly intelligent use of fundamental components.” Which brings us to today’s challenge. The task is for you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic invention. Circular to Vertical Construct a machine which converts rotary motion into up-and-down action. Your available these components exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the rods can slide snugly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so that the parts don’t collapse.) The solution returns at 5pm UK with the solution. Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s most impactful invention.