Are You Able to Solve This? That Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Shaped the Contemporary Globe

There are many contenders to claim the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine.

As per a recent publication, though, that honor belongs to the automated sawmill conceived by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.

“Prior to mechanised sawing, building a simple trading ship necessitated around 10 sawyers working over 90 days,” notes the author. “Using wind-driven sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber could be produced in less than a week.”

Thanks to their speedy mechanical cutter, which converted logs into planks using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct vessels faster compared to anyone else, which unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands naval, financial as well as cultural supremacy in the continent and the globe.

The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device

The inventor's sawmill, contends the writer, was “mankind’s first true factory machine.” A windmill rotated a wheel. A single part transformed its circular motion into vertical motion for the saw. Another component changed the rotary motion into a lateral movement advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead a measured step each stroke.

“Each element was modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to combine these parts so the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every downward stroke and moving on every upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”

Which brings us to the current puzzle. I’d like you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic machine.

Circular to Vertical

Construct a machine that turns rotary movement to vertical motion. Your available these items exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which a single the bars can slide snugly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the components do not collapse.)

The solution returns later today UK time with the answer.

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders for the world’s greatest invention.