What are some civilian or industrial applications of a large amount of linear force. I.e. if a magical symbol was inscribed on a piece of paper the next physical object that touches the symbol would have forced applied to that object from that direction. I originally thought of this idea as a way to make magical breach loading cannons (the hinge swings shut and the cannonball is forced forward, no need for reinforced butts as all the force is directed in one direction). The other application I could think of was landmines (the symbol is left on the ground and someone steps on it and is flung in the air or has their legs crumple).
Early industrial uses of power all seem to be rotational, ie spinning wheel grinds grain, spinning wheel turns textile mills, spinning wheel makes car move. And although there are gears that transfer linear power into rotational power, they don't seem to have the durability/ usage? for explosive levels of force.
As a constrain, the magical symbols require a non-negligible amount of effort to create but can be scaled more forceful or less forceful withe more force taking more effort. Tech level can vary anywhere between Roman era tech to early modern period.
Thanks :)
edit: forgot to specify how long the force is applied, it is applied instantly or very near instantly, and then the magical symbols disappear.
edit 2: to add a clarifying point, the force/ energy from the magic comes from the energy created/ generated in a fire in joules or something. Bigger fire -> more energy but more effort, smaller fire -> less energy. Think of it as like a transfer of energy from heat/ light to direction. Therefore for small things like a winepress or whatnot, it would probably not be efficient to create a fire and a magical spell just to do something you can very easily do with muscle power, but for a cannon, you have the ability to store huge amounts of energy and use it at once to fire a cannon ball.
Bottom line, the question boils down to: "I have a magic spell that can impart to the target a certain amount of kinetic energy, putting it in a strict linear motion, in a sudden (instantaneous) way. How could someone harvest this energy for industrial purposes?"