>> ♪ We've got two days to get this straight ♪ We got a challenge just won't wait our eyes are on the prize ♪ Two engineers just set the date ♪ We got this client can't be late oh, no, it's go time ♪ Build it, test, fix it debug now and kick it ♪ Got to get it off the ground yeah ♪ Stick around and you'll see what teamwork's supposed to mean ♪ It's so key Design Squad Design Squad!

♪ >> Is that bad?

>> No.

>> Smells like burning.

>> No, it's steaming.

>> It's a teenage pancake.

>> It's not really mature yet.

Ready?

>> Oh!

>> And that is a perfect pancake.

>> Now, can anybody possibly fathom what today's challenge might be?

>> Scrambled eggs?

>> Wrong!

Roll the tape.

>> Hi, my name is Jay Hajj, and I'm the owner of Victoria's Diner.

I've been in business for 20 years, long enough to know what customers want-- quality food that's affordable and fast.

And if you're at Victoria's for breakfast, that means... >> Pancakes!

>> That's my uncle.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

And they got to be good to keep these customers happy.

Here's your challenge, Design Squads.

I want you to build me an automatic pancake machine that will work in the touch of a button.

These are the specs.

The pancakes have to be as good as the ones fresh off the griddle at Victoria's.

I am looking for quality over quantity.

I'll supply the batter.

You'll supply the machine.

And the winning machine will have the honor of cooking pancakes for my regular customers.

And believe me, they know their pancakes.

Good luck.

>> So you got that?

He needs you to make an automatic pancake machine that will make pancakes at the touch of a button.

And he's looking for quality over quantity, so they better be good.

>> Now, the task is to cook the pancake on one side, flip it over, cook the pancake on the other side, and then get it off the griddle and onto a plate.

>> Everything you need will be found right here in our shop.

>> All right, and each member of the winning team is going to receive 100 points.

>> Now, both machines will actually be used at Victoria's Diner to do the judging, but only the winning one will be serving pancakes to the regular customers.

>> It's time for you guys to start brainstorming.

But before you start thinking too much, you really need to learn how to make a perfect pancake.

It's what we engineers call analyzing the user experience.

>> That's right.

So let's get cooking.

>> All right.

Go too it, little flapjacks.

>> Who can make pancakes?

>> I've never had pancakes before.

I've never made them.

>> Why don't we just start cooking and see how long it takes to make a pancake?

>> ...making me really hungry.

>> We're going to do the time before we flip it and then the time after we flip it to do the other side.

>> By doing this, we can see how well we flip them, and it just gives us some more time to think.

>> I'm going to eat it for the first time ever.

>> He's going to throw up.

>> It's really plain.

>> We should talk about how the heck we're going to do this.

>> No ideas.

All right, all right, I'm going to start out with a line.

>> I wish someone would come up with some ingenious thing.

>> Once this pancake's done, I'll start thinking.

>> Pancakes don't help you think.

It's very hot.

All right, I'm going to go ahead and start working, if anyone's paying attention.

>> Scientific purpose of this pancake is actually to measure the diameter and general circumference of what it would be if it's one-third cup.

Six-inch diameter cake.

>> Is that really necessary?

>> Let's see what the thickness is with a caliper.

>> I have an interesting idea: nonstick surface, flip onto a nonstick surface, flip onto a plate.

>> I thought, like, flipping was kind of hard.

If you just, like, lift it up and have it just slide down the thing... >> We need motors, and we need to set them to a certain time.

>> That's the big thing that, you know, I'm thinking about right now, the time issue.

>> Here's an idea.

What if we did something with the pans-- like, we had two pans attached, pour it in one side, have it close, let it cook, and then just flip the entire thing over so it's on the other side of the pan, open it, and then just chuck it out?

>> Actually, that is a very good idea.

The idea of it would be up and then... >> Did it fall?

>> Yep.

>> Oh, it did.

>> All right, let's take a look at what we've got here.

Well, I was thinking it would be, like, flip this open right here.

>> Okay.

>> And then... >> Yay.

>> There is a lot of mechanical motion.

That's what makes this really complicated.

>> We have spatulas.

I mean, I was just thinking, like, why don't we, like, drill through the spatula and use that as the flipper?

Like, connect it to the motor and, like, as it goes around... >> You would need to attach it on a different axial point, and that's also a completely different idea.

I do like it, but we're also running short on day one, so... >> Like, we haven't come up with a design.

We're still in the brainstorming phase.

So that's why I just threw that out there.

>> I think it's going to be really hard to do it... >> I think the easiest way would be to cook both sides at the same time.

I was thinking some kind of sandwiching idea where we kind of hinge this together and then place the pancakes right in there and put... have this fully automated I guess.

Are they... are they... yeah, they're getting smushed.

>> Oh, good.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> That's pretty.

>> That's a quality pancake.

>> That's actually disgusting.

>> I'll eat it.

>> Okay, instead of pressed up against the pancakes, let's have it raised up a little.

Okay, I have to line this up.

>> One minute.

>> Muscles dying.

>> Now.

>> I hope this works.

>> Hey.

>> Oh.

>> How about some pancakes?

>> That actually turned out really well.

>> Yeah, and they're massive.

>> Plate-- ready?

>> My only issue is now the mechanics behind putting a grill on top of another grill.

>> All right, right now we're testing the kind of ripple fold.

>> Oh, this is hot.

>> This idea requires just having the single sheet of nonstick coating and using that just to simply flip it and then try to slide it off.

>> The one problem that I foresee with this idea is the problem of automation and making this a process that we can do at the push of a button.

>> Yeah.

>> There could possibly be a bar up here with some strings that pulls.

>> I was thinking we could do a truss bridge.

>> No.

I'm just kidding.

I'm just kidding.

>> I like the truss bridge.

Okay, you put one truss, one truss, and then you put a pole, and then we can have the molder attached, and it can just kind of like... and you could have it stop at different intervals.

>> Okay, so now Mike's going to attempt to roll the pancake.

>> No.

>> That was my fear.

>> Let's just, each person, go off, build something in foam and wood, and see if it works.

If it doesn't, then ditch it.

But sitting here is not going to give any progress.

>> No, you don't know.

>> And I just thought of an idea-- ready?

You can have the perfect pancake here, so it's actually touching both sides.

>> You could also attach metal bearings to it so that it would just roll across, and the metal bearings are going to get hot.

>> And then it gets over here and it goes.

I'm too afraid that we're going to jump into this and be like... we're going to have to build a crane to move these things.

>> No.

>> Are you not satisfied with the brainstorming?

>> I'm not satisfied with the brainstorming.

>> Well, let's brainstorm some more then.

>> Everyone kind of bounced around with a ton of ideas, and nothing worked at all.

So it's kind of tough.

>> What if we cut out, from the cookie... the cookie sheet?

Because since we're flipping it... >> No, that... >> Why are you shaking your head?

I didn't even finish explaining.

>> Because the thing... the cookie sheet doesn't heat up as well as... like, this stuff is meant to heat up.

>> We didn't try that, though.

All right, whatever.

It's fine.

>> The last hour of the day, I want everybody to have their own mockup, and I want that to bring to the table.

Each person do something, simple as that.

>> Today was a pretty poor day for Team Blue, I think.

We accomplished very little.

I'm not exactly sure why this challenge is more difficult than the other challenges.

It might just be that we're tired, and it's a very hot day; it's making us really irritable.

>> Either start testing or keep brainstorming, but let's do something.

>> I want to try this black thing right here.

>> Yeah, we could use that to flip.

>> We just need to actually see if, like, they can cook it on it and it slides off.

>> It smells like burning plastic.

>> Ready...

There it goes-- woo!

>> All right, you want to see mine?

>> I was also thinking, if we timed it really slow, we could cook it along a conveyor belt.

>> Yeah, but how do you flip it?

>> If they have the same behavior when they flip, if we just move the second conveyor belt or our second grill underneath it, we can actually cook both sides and have that flip effect.

>> Oh, that's a really good idea.

>> But it's just at a grand scale, though.

The flipping mechanism is totally controlled by gravity, I guess.

>> Really good.

>> So let's imagine this conveyor belt rolling.

It's going to flip itself, hopefully, and then drop.

Look at that.

I claim this design in the name of Red Team.

>> We have 15 minutes left in day one.

>> So my idea is the two flipper idea.

So this is about ten inches.

It's a ten-inch square.

That's approximately how big the griddle is.

So what happens is this is actually a metal frame, and below here is a piece of this nonstick material.

So it's in direct contact with the griddle.

So that's cooking.

And after about five or so minutes or however long it takes with this stuff, this just flips, and the pancake lands flipped on this flipper.

After, I don't know how... it's just two or three minutes I guess, this just flips, turn it onto a plate.

>> What's the frame made out of?

>> Sheet metal.

>> So, Giselle, do you have an idea or... >> I think Noah has a really good idea.

If we just tweaked it to fix all the problems, it's really good.

>> All right.

So tomorrow we start with the double flip.

We go from there.

Any other data, the machining, we'll divvy out in the morning.

>> So we're out of time.

You two are going to work on the testing and then the frame.

>> Joey, you're going to work on the motors.

I'll work on the PVC.

>> And I'm going to work with you.

>> Everyone's going to work together.

>> The secret to success: get everybody in on the design instead of trying to change it last minute.

>> So you ready?

One, two, three, pancakes!

>> That's why I wanted to do this today.

>> Let's go.

>> Whew!

>> Oh.

>> That's disgusting, isn't it?

>> Okay, pancake's going to start up here.

It's going to be pulled down here.

And then it's going to cook here, pull, pull, pull, onto a plate.

I guess we could start building one conveyor belt, but we really need to test the distance between our two cooking surfaces so that it flips.

>> Yeah, but, like, we need to decide if the conveyor belt's going to go all the way around, underneath the bottom too.

>> Yeah.

So we're going to need two rollers.

>> The other thing I'm worried about is actually spinning that, because the motor has, like, a little itty-bitty shaft.

Like, there's our motor, right?

And then we have this big, enormous tube.

How do we connect those?

>> PVC has caps.

So that can cover the hole.

>> Ah, genius.

I'm just so stupid not to think of it.

>> Who's doing what?

>> Joey, you're going to work on the motors and attach them to the PVC.

You guys are working on the testing and then the frame.

And I'm working on putting the PVCs on the grills.

>> I want to see if we can actually make a good list for today.

So we got the frame.

We got the flipping mechanisms themselves and the motorized units.

All right, the frame, anybody want to tackle that?

>> Yeah, we'll work... do you want to work together?

>> Yeah.

>> That's fine.

>> All right, let's get a design on paper.

The other major component is the electrical action for the flipper.

>> So that's going to be critical, because it not only needs to flip; it needs to be able to go back and forth, rest on it, and... >> Yeah, that's going to be a lot of timing and testing.

I really want that done.

>> Let's think of ways to adjust the height of this.

We can use our buckets turned over just to set this platform on.

It'd be easy if we actually taped this.

>> That worked.

>> It flipped over.

Let's try again.

So that was nine inches off.

>> I'd say that worked.

>> I'd say it flips.

>> Offhand.

>> Kim and Krishana have nailed the perfect flip, and here's how.

As the pancake falls off the griddle, its weight creates a spinning force, and the pancake starts to flip.

If the bottom griddle is too close, the pancake will under-rotate; and if it's too far, it will over-rotate.

So to cook the pancake on the flip side, Kim and Krishana have placed the griddles just the right distance apart.

>> You want to try it, like, at ten this time?

>> Yeah.

>> BOTH: That works too.

>> I'd say we make it nine and a half.

The smaller the frame, the easier and better it is to, like, fit in a kitchen and be more useful.

>> Um, you guys, so let me just give you a quick rundown on the frame.

Basically, it's going to be like a drawbridge.

If this is the whole griddle, put a piece of plywood underneath it, plates right here.

We make a tower, and we can put the motor up here.

That can wind a piece of string that would be attached to the metal.

And basically, what it can do is, if there's piano hinge that we could rivet right onto the griddle, we can just make it come up and then unwind it to come down.

To put it on the plate, it would be the exact same thing.

We'd have another motor mounted onto the mast, and we could just pull it up, pull it down-- simple.

And I can build the frame in a really short amount of time.

>> I like it.

>> So... >> Once I've done the frame, then let's get those motors on, because we need to see if it lifts.

If not, then we need to fiddle with the gear ratio.

>> More powerful motor.

>> The motors are a long way away from where we are right now.

>> Giselle, why don't you help Natasha?

>> Joey, do you have an idea of how you're going to attach the PVC pipe to the motor?

>> The caps for the end of the PVC pipes we can just attach to it, and then drill a hole through it, and then put an axle mount right through both pieces, kind of mount it along the side of the axle.

>> Then you can spin the axle using the motor.

>> And the motor can be attached to the outside of the frame.

>> Yeah.

>> I couldn't find anymore gears, other than the ones that are right in front of me, so what I'm going to do is basically work with what I have.

The speed doesn't really matter.

The problem is the torque.

>> Joey's right.

If their motor doesn't have enough torque, their conveyor belt won't turn.

So what is torque?

Torque is different from force.

Force is how hard you need to push or pull an object to move it in a straight line.

Torque is the amount of effort used to rotate an object.

So Red Team needs a motor that provides enough torque to spin the roller and move the conveyor belt.

>> Is it going?

>> Supposedly, it should.

>> All right, let go of the motor.

>> Ha, ha, that's hilarious.

>> I'm going to start to build the frame.

>> All we need to do is put pieces here, another piece here.

Like, it's actually just going to be like a skeleton, and then you're just going to put pieces on top, essentially.

>> Okay, that's cool.

>> All right, let's get this done.

This is a terrible idea, Giselle.

Will you get me the other jaws of life please?

>> Why don't we just use the saw?

>> No.

One thing I'm worried about is that it's not going to fall onto the griddle.

>> This is the frame for our flippermajig.

This is going to be riveted together, and this material is going to be on the bottom so that, when it's cooking, this will be in direct contact with the griddle.

When it flips, it'll just flip onto the other flipper.

>> We're going to take this here hinge, and then we're going to drill it to the hot plate.

>> It's just a little bit crooked, but we can adjust it when we mount the hinge to compensate for it.

Huh?

Oh, it's hitting on this.

>> This piece of nonstick material needs to be in constant contact with the griddle so that the pancake really heats up and gets cooked correctly.

>> What are you doing with the spoon?

>> I'm tying not to burn myself.

Be careful.

It's not.

>> Actually, it's not hot.

>> It was.

It was.

>> It was not.

>> It was warm, and I thought it was hot.

>> You're using a spoon.

>> What I'm doing is sewing together a conveyor belt.

I'm putting these elastic bits in here so that we can stretch it over our rollers and it will keep nice and taut.

I never thought that sewing a women's bathing suit to fit my friend Noah would help me out on another challenge, but look at me now.

>> So you'd mount one motor here-- one motor here, one motor here.

>> Why don't we put a piece of wood right here?

>> The reason why we have it this high is so that it has more of an angle.

>> Why don't we do that for the farthest one back?

And then for the second half, why don't we just put another one right here?

>> Yeah, we have one up here and then one directly below it, because we increase the mechanical advantage with the height.

>> Mike is right.

Placing the motor higher has an advantage.

Torque is needed to lift the tray, and the key is upward force.

If the motor is placed too low, the string won't pull in an upward direction, and the tray won't lift.

If the motor is placed higher, it will pull the string in a more upward direction, flipping the tray more easily.

And for both trays to flip at similar speeds, the ropes must be at a similar angle, and that's why their motors should be placed at different heights.

>> Hey, Red Team, what's the status?

>> Working.

>> Okay.

>> Pending.

>> Good, good.

What's the status of the project versus the status of you?

Anybody?

Anybody?

>> We're just working real hard.

>> Have you guys tested it yet?

>> Pretty much what we're waiting on is for the motor assembly.

>> Okay.

And then if all you're waiting for is the motor assembly, why is all this stuff still spread out and not assembled?

You guys are aware you have an hour and a half left?

You need to be really working here so you can finish in time to make it work.

>> It is crunch time, my favorite time of the day.

>> What's cooking, Blue Team?

It's about an hour and a half left, so we're definitely into crunch time.

What do you guys need to do to get this thing up and running?

>> Smelt the motors, get the timing right, and that's it.

>> And we're going to help you by, like, timing how long it takes to cook one side, the time to flip.

>> Exactly, because we're going to help you guys program digital timers so this can all implement in a set fashion.

You got to focus, focus, focus.

You guys need some energy.

Pep it up.

>> Don't even tell me.

>> Is it this?

>> All right, all right.

>> Ready?

>> Reverse the direction, please.

>> Is the motor spinning or what?

>> It's too tight.

>> That could have gone better.

I think that motor's going to work.

>> That's not even going to move.

Let's just move on to the next one.

>> Where's the other one?

>> The spool needs to not have that much string on it.

>> How does the wheel attach?

>> We need to take off some of the string.

Okay, yeah, do you see?

>> Just one test, one test.

>> Go.

>> Woo!

>> The reason why we switched motors is because the motor... >> Didn't have enough torque.

>> ...really didn't have enough torque.

We just switched to the ones that we used for the soccer ball.

>> Yeah, these ones are nice and slow, and they have a lot of torque.

This motor, you turn it on, it kicks a lot.

>> Yeah, I know.

>> So I just want to make sure it's really tight.

>> That should do it.

>> Krishana, do you want to watch and see if it works?

>> Ah, it works.

>> Guys, that's awesome.

>> It has enough torque.

>> Other way, other way.

>> Nice.

>> Once we sew that, the duct tape won't be a problem.

It won't get stuck.

Fetch me my needle.

>> That's pretty great.

>> Now it's all ready to go, so we can get ready for our second test.

>> Okay.

>> All right, stop.

>> That's good, that's good.

>> Flip it.

>> All right.

>> Three, two, one... >> Flip.

( cheering ) How long do we let it cook this time?

>> The first side three minutes, the second side two minutes.

>> Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, three, two, one.

>> Stop it, stop it.

>> Yeah, beautiful.

>> Yeah.

>> Bon appétit.

>> Do you want to do it again?

>> No.

>> All right, Design Squads, welcome to the moment of truth, the big pancake cook-off with our client, Jay.

Jay and I have taken the time to program these machines, and we're ready to see how they're going to cook up the pancakes.

>> And, Red Team, you're up first.

>> So this cooks one side of the pancake up here.

Then the conveyor belt will move two pancakes down onto the other conveyor belt, and it'll cook the other side.

Once they're done, they flip onto a plate all the way at the end.

So they're going to cook.

They're bubbling up nicely, as they're supposed to, with this great batter.

>> I like this.

>> I think I want one right now.

>> I'm going to wait till they cook, myself.

>> You want to make sure it's a little bit cooked on the other side so that it's not doughy.

>> It's looking good.

>> Yeah.

>> Five more seconds.

>> There we go.

This is perfect.

This is the right time to flip, right now.

( cheering and applause ) Look at that.

>> Nice job.

>> Yummy.

>> The pancakes look great.

The color is good.

The size is decent.

Let's see how it's going to land on the plate.

>> Beautiful.

( cheering and applause ) >> All right.

>> Very good.

>> Beautiful Red Team pancakes.

What do you think of those?

>> I think they're beautiful.

Look how beautiful they are.

>> Blue Team, are you guys intimidated by these pancakes?

>> No.

>> All right, well, I'd say Red Team set the bar pretty high.

Let's see what your machine can do.

>> All right.

>> Okay, so our design works with two separate flips.

First the pancake gets poured here, and it cooks for a while, and then this motor will trigger a flip, and this will be brought up, and the pancake will flip over on the other side.

And then when this is done cooking, it'll flip right onto the plate-- very simple, very compact.

>> Very smart.

>> Woo!

>> Look at that pancake.

>> They have one pancake.

We have deuce pancakes.

>> Three, two... >> Woo!

>> Nice.

( applause ) >> That beautiful Blue Team pancake.

>> Automatic.

>> Pretty impressive, you guys.

>> Very nice.

It has a nice color to it.

It looks good.

>> Well done, Blue Team.

>> All of these pancakes look great, but only one machine can win.

So you want to go help us make a decision?

>> Let's go.

>> All right.

>> I thought both machines were good.

I thought both of them were a smart idea.

And both machines did great pancakes.

They both made exactly the same pancake.

The bigger machine did two pancakes, which was great, but quantity was not an issue.

It was quality.

The smaller machine was small.

I could fit it anywhere in the kitchen.

And in a busy kitchen like mine, you need as much space as possible.

So, Blue Team, you won.

>> Ah!

>> 100 points goes to each member of the Blue Team.

>> And that means Blue Team is serving up pancakes to Jay's customers.

>> Hey, guys, we got your pancakes here.

>> Excellent.

>> Lovely.

>> Ooh, wow, they look great.

>> Enjoy.

>> Thank you very much.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org >> So after nine challenges, Natasha still has the recipe for success and hangs on to the lead with 780 points.

All right, Deanne, here's a new challenge: describe the Design Squad Web site in ten seconds.

Go.

>> There are games, photos, new challenges, videos, quizzes, scoring updates.

>> Time's up.

>> Ugh!

Just go to pbskidsgo.org.