03x06 - sNOw Problem? Part 1

[bunniefuu]

♪ We've got two days

to get this straight

♪ We've got a challenge

just won't wait

♪ Our eyes are on the prize

♪ An engineer

just set the date

♪ We've 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. ♪

Wow.

Aren't you cold?

As you know, we have another

travel challenge for you today.

Now, do you guys have any idea

where we might be going and what

we're doing?

Snow!

The Yukon.

Try again.

Mexico.

Boston.

Does this look like Boston?

Let's roll the tape to find out.

Oh, my God.

No way, no way.

Are you serious?

That's right.

We're going to the Yukon?

Today's clients are dog

mushers, and they need a little

help with their training.

But as usual, there's a catch.

My name is Newton.

And my name is Rob.

Welcome to Jamaica!

Are you serious?

On a beautiful day in Jamaica

you could snorkel, you could go

kayaking.

But we choose a different kind

of sport.

Dog sledding.

We train all year round here

at Chukka Cove farm, and we use

dogs from the pound.

This is Smiley.

He loves to show his teeth, so

that's how he got his name,

Smiley.

This is Benji.

When we got Benji he was only

one day away from being put to

sleep.

He was so weak he could barely

walk.

And today Benji is one of our

main guys on our team, and he's

also very happy at a second

chance at life.

Oh!

For our dry land training, we

use a special rig on wheels.

It is great, but it does not

feel like sledding on snow.

Here is where you come in,

Design Squad.

We want you to build us a snow

sled for our dry land training.

We don't have snow here, but

we do have a lot of grass, so

make sure it runs on grass, but

it feels like we're running on

snow.

Here's the best part, Design

Squads.

We want you to bring your sled

down to Jamaica.

Yeah!

Yeah!

We'll test them both, and

then we'll use the best one to

train for our upcoming races.

Good luck, Design Squad.

Good luck, Design Squad.

Huh?

It's going to be a challenging

one, you guys.

You're only running on grass,

and you've got to make it feel

like snow.

Do you guys have any questions?

Let's do it.

Start brainstorming.

Let's go to Jamaica.

Good, good.

It's hard to slide on grass.

Unless it's wet.

Unless it's wet.

Snow.

Hmm.

A water g*n?

That's a good idea.

How much do we actually know

about sledding?

Not that much.

When I heard it was Jamaica,

I was really excited, because

I've never been out of the

country, and I've never been

anywhere hot or anything like

that.

I feel like there'd be really

great people to meet, and I

can't wait to get down there and

show them what we've made.

I'm thinking either use

wheels or skis.

We should probably stick with

wheels.

It has to be portable, too, so

we can ship it down to Jamaica.

Yeah, man.

I guess that's going to be

the tricky part.

Yeah.

Hey, Green Team, come

outside.

I've got something to show you.

Yeah.

All right.

I've got a couple things for you

to look at.

This thing rides on dry land,

and this is what they race on in

snow.

You can see there are some

pretty big differences.

This guy's got wheels.

The wheels have a lot of grip,

and so they don't slide a lot

like skis do in snow.

The steering's all based on the

handlebars like this.

Actually leaning back and forth

is going to make very little

difference.

Also, you can't help but notice

how stiff this entire stretcher

is.

Now let me show you this one.

This guy's quite a bit

different.

You're standing on the skis, and

obviously things are going to

slide a bit when you're going

around corners.

To steer, I shift my weight over

to the left side, push the whole

thing to the right to flex it,

and the drag on the inside makes

it turn left.

Same thing if I want to turn

right.

I go to the right ski, push the

whole sled left, and the drag on

this right side makes it turn

right.

And if I need additional drag, I

can pull down this speed control

bar and put my foot down on it

to make it drag even more.

So obviously there are a lot of

differences between this and

that, and what we want is for

you guys to make something like

this work more like something

like this.

Make sense?

Yeah.

So take those things into

consideration as you're

brainstorming.

Thank you, Nate.

Thanks, Nate.

I don't want handlebar

steering like this.

Right, you don't want

handlebar steering like this.

So how can we get this motion to

translate into the turning of

the wheels?

We'd want it to go the way

opposite that we pull it.

Like, if we pull it to the left,

we want it to go right.

If I pull this way, like

that.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning, Nate.

We have idea.

Show me.

If there is a string coming

out here, attached to a pulley,

goes up to this handlebar, same

thing on the other side, and I

want to make a left turn, I'm

going to pull this right.

Yep, left turn, uh-huh.

You're going to push it off to

the right to get your left turn.

Yep, and then a right turn.

Because of the criss-cross.

Because of the criss-cross.

Sweet.

That's a very nice way to

simulate the proper leaning

positions to turn.

That's really clever.

It looks like a dance, see?

I like it.

[beatboxing]

You guys look ridiculous.

We have a dog sled to build.

Bye, Nate.

Later.

Oh, man.

We really need a sketch

model.

Yeah, we really need to work

out these pulleys.

This is the top view.

This is going to be the front

wheel, and this is going to be

the back wheels.

So it's just going to be like a

surfboard.

I mean, we're in Jamaica.

Ana, I haven't worked with

her yet, but I know she makes...

she's known for making

everything look pretty, so that

would be a good presentation.

Wes is definitely in the lead

with 400 points, and he's

definitely a smart guy.

I think we're probably going to

win.

I mean, they have Annelise and

Juan and Lindsey, who... I know

that they have some trouble

getting along, so they're

probably going to have some team

tension, where I don't think we

will, so...

So do we want to sketch one

right now?

Yeah, you guys want to model

it?

Yeah, sure.

Zach has a reputation of

being really temperamental, but

up until now he hasn't shown

that side on our team, so I

guess that if we're all chill

and we know how to handle him,

he won't, like, burst or

anything like that.

That's great.

Can you line up these two

pieces of wood with the front

wheel?

Hold the middle.

All right, I'm good.

Want to see a cool trick?

Got some dowels.

What are you supposed to do

with those?

Build a sketch model,

obviously.

Fight crime.

You know, kung fu.

Let's go, let's go.

Hiya!

Fight crime?

We've gone from dog sledding to

crime fighting.

Good, good.

Oh, wait.

Those would be perfect.

Oh, that fits perfect.

Look.

All right, I've got an axle.

But we need the actual

structure of the whole thing.

So I'm going to make the base.

Why are you cutting that

wood?

Do you even know what shape it's

supposed to be in or what size

it's supposed to be in, or are

you just cutting it because

you're a man?

I'm a guy.

It's in my DNA.

I'm working with Annelise and

Juan, and I don't know what to

expect, because they're both

really strong-willed people.

I hope I don't run into any

problems, because Juan can

sometimes be a little bit

overbearing.

Juan, how are you supposed to

see this when you're not at the

board?

I can see.

I mean...

Why are you standing there?

Because it helps me think.

I like to, like, be entertained

while I work, and she doesn't

like that.

So she gives me a lot of stuff

for that.

She kind of yells at me a little

bit.

But, I mean, hey, I mean,

they're girls.

Like, they yell, they complain.

It's what they do.

It's what they do.

The front wheel, we need to

make that bridle that goes out

to the dog, right here.

And then we need to do the

pulley system to the handlebars.

We know basically what parts

we need now.

You want to build it?

Yeah.

Let's get some more wood.

Y-yeah!

Fine, fine.

Slide this.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Sweet sketch model.

This might be the fastest you

guys have ever built a working

sketch model ever.

You can see that you get a

minimal amount of steering just

from shifting your weight.

If I push real hard on this

side, it... because of how the

system's flexing, the wheel ends

up pointing a little bit to the

left.

I would think about this and try

and figure out a way to make

this system steer more like the

real dog sled, because I know

that it can happen.

I'll give you a clue.

It's all going to be centered

around that front wheel, so that

when you push down you get a

big, solid steer in that

direction.

Keep messing with this.

It's cool.

So this is the front.

Oh, it's stuck.

Lean, lean.

You guys ready?

Okay, let's try this.

Let's do a lap around the

table.

Nice.

All right, that definitely

works.

It's working.

Man, if we put up some

chihuahuas up to this thing and

put on, like, a two-year-old

baby, oh, this thing would go

flying.

Yeah, it works minus half of

our steering.

So let's get on that.

Let's just figure out how

we're going to do the steering.

You know how you have to turn

like this and that?

Yeah, uh-huh.

So we have to make this

really loose so we can do that.

So it'll be something here, and

it'll be able to turn, like,

that way or that way.

So we have two things come up

here, and then a bolt will be,

like, going through it.

Sound good?

Yeah, let's do this.

Delicious.

Ah.

We can't turn it, though.

See, look.

I guess we could cut it.

Yeah, we could cut the

corners off.

Okay.

I'll do that.

Yeah.

It worked.

Perfect.

Thanks, Ana.

Okay.

That's pretty good for a

sketch model.

Hey, guys, what are we using

as the frame?

Do you want to use steel, Juan?

It's strong.

Right, it'll be more sturdy.

Okay, let's do it.

Let's go show them.

Hey, guys, look what I finished.

Awesome.

They're like huge chopsticks.

That looks great.

Oh, cool.

Smells like burnt metal.

That's my hair.

That's my hair.

That's our main frame.

I'm working on the front

wheel for turning.

This is a bearing, and it allows

the wheel in the front to

rotate.

Cool.

Hey, guys, we've got to hurry

and finish our sketch model,

because it's almost the end of

the day, and we don't want to

keep on doing this tomorrow.

All right.

I think we really should try

and get moving.

Well, I can work on that

front wheel.

All right, now put the rod in.

What's going to stop the rod?

We should make, like, a

little hole, and then just weld

it together.

I mean, they're both steel.

Stop pushing it down, Juan.

I'm not pushing, I'm just

letting it go.

Lift up.

Hold it.

Actually hold it.

Stop leaning on me.

I'm not leaning.

Hold the bar.

Check out how heavy it is.

I know, but you're strong

enough.

I'd say an inch and a half.

An inch and a half is this

big.

Are you sure that's how much you

want?

Yeah.

Look, it has to go...

I don't know why he's making

it for me.

I never asked him to.

I didn't ask you to cut me that

piece, did I?

I didn't ask you to build

anything, did I?

No.

But you're doing it anyway.

He's irritating me.

You want to make it?

Here.

There's the tube.

Sometimes, I mean, I don't feel

appreciated.

I cook, I clean, they don't even

say thank you.

I've never seen him cook or

clean.

Okay.

Cool, thanks.

Yay.

Nice.

Cool.

This is what Lindsey welded.

Got the welding, and then got

the steel, we've got the axle,

we've got... good, dude, we're

good.

Look, look at this.

Sweet.

And front wheel right there,

right?

Yep.

Do you want me to slip the

wheels on the back while you do

that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, guys, we officially have

three wheels on our sled.

And Lindsey's about to break it.

Do we like this one?

Yeah, it looks good.

We basically have everything

we need to make... just change

the materials to make it more

sturdy.

Yeah, it does work.

Hey, Design Squads, put your

tools down, day one is over!

All right, guys.

Good job, guys.

Make it, baby.

Green Team love, Green Team

love.

I probably would have wanted

to get more done on the actual

sled, but tomorrow we'll come

back with a bang, one of those

back with a bang, one of those

big ones.

Not the small bangs.

Like, you need the big bang.

Tomorrow and the next day

we're going to have to work

things a little bit faster,

since we spent all of today

making the sketch model.

But I think we can get it done.

I think it's going to be really

good.

Let's go, let's go, let's go,

let's go!

So what we have to do is the

handlebars.

Okay, let's do it.

Should we consider making the

frame aluminum, just so it's

lighter?

Yeah, I like aluminum.

I mean, if we bolt it, like,

right, and we put enough, I

think it's going to be good.

Let's start doing this already.

I don't know what's up with

Zach.

He's not in a really good mood

today.

He kind of is bringing the team

down, because he's kind of

working his own thing.

Like, Wes and I are doing, like,

the chassis, which is, like, the

backbone of the whole project.

But Zach's kind of doing

something else.

I really... I'm really tired

today, just out of it.

And that's why my mind just

wasn't in it.

No one was really stepping up.

Like, I'm really worried about

Ana, because she's like...

doesn't seem like she's really

into it that much.

Like, I don't really feel like

she's really into it as much as

Wes and I are.

And I have to say that even... I

don't even think that I'm into

it as much as Wes is, which is,

you know, bad for him.

We have to really get our stuff

together, get in... you know,

get our heads really into it and

focus.

I am working on these

handles.

I've bent aluminum.

So my idea is to build these

flexible joints and...

You bent it?

Yeah.

Wow, that's good.

So I'm going to do that.

All right.

Ta-dah.

That is terrible.

You know what?

We have handlebars.

Oh, so much...

Hey, hey.

How's it going?

Uh...

give me your assessment.

Does this aluminum handle match

the robust awesomeness of your

chassis that you welded up?

Well, we were looking for

something that's flexible.

You're right that these pin

joints give you the correct sort

of motion for the linkage, but

tell me, is this little guy

right here going to be able to

manage holding up to race speeds

when you're wrenching stuff back

and forth, pushing hard, and

going fast in different

directions?

You're along the right track

with the chassis.

This is awesome, and the welding

is good.

Everything is really strong, and

is lined up nicely.

Do this, but industrial

strength.

Okay.

Is it long enough, do you

think?

I don't know.

I don't know if this is going

to be stable enough to add

to be stable enough to add

stability.

Do you want to just make a big

cross between the whole thing?

Wes is right.

Without a crossbrace, Green

Team's frame would simply be two

parallel tubes, which would be

unstable.

That means when the front wheel

turns, it applies sideways

forces to the frame that it

can't resist, so the frame

deforms.

But with the crossbrace, the

frame is divided into stiff

triangles, and they resist the

sideways forces from the front

wheel as it turns.

That'll add a lot more

stability.

Ready?

Clear.

A little bit towards Ana.

One, two, three.

You're tilting it that way.

Don't tilt it that much.

You're tilting it!

This way.

It's getting stuck.

It's done.

Green Team, we're kind of

working a little slow right now.

We just started to get our

chassis together with two

crossbars.

I'm definitely feeling the

pressure.

Zach, you want to work on the

steering, I'll work on the front

wheel?

I'll work on the back.

Okay, sounds good.

We still have to redo the

handlebars, which is what this

aluminum pole is for.

I'm putting together our

handlebars.

Why is the top one made out

of PVC?

Because we ran out of

aluminum tubing.

Oh, good point.

So those are on.

And we have handlebars.

Yeah!

I think I'm going to steal

one of these bikes.

I'm going to take the handle

system from the bike and use it

for our front wheel.

For the handle I'm going to

use a piece of this rubber.

That way it will give it the

flexibility up top.

So that means we need to

start building the angled piece

next, right?

Right.

So can we get on that?

So it just needs to be mounted,

like, here, right?

Ta-da!

Ta-da!

Whoo!

Nice.

So what's next?

Put the pulleys on for the

steering system, right?

Yep.

Looks good.

Let's get to work, though.

We're pinched for time.

I'm trying to figure out the

front part right now.

All right, we want to keep it in

the same spot so it doesn't move

this way.

Okay.

Why don't you weld these

steel poles in place?

Perfect.

All right, done.

Heads up, Juan.

Why?

Be aware of your

surroundings.

Okay, dude, I'm trying to put

it over the crossbar.

Hang on.

Hold on.

Don't blow it, Design Squads.

We've got to keep cracking.

Ready?

It looks pretty good, eh?

Yep, that looks good.

Okay, guys, let's go test

this baby.

Okay.

All right.

You feel okay, you feel good?

Okay.

Mush, mush, mush.

Oh, my god.

Puddle!

Oh, man.

All right, all right.

My turn.

Whoa!

We definitely need brakes.

I'll hop on now.

Go right by me.

Puddle.

All the way around, all the

way around!

Right through the puddle!

Ah!

It feels pretty good.

It jerks back a lot.

Things to do when we get back

in-- the footbrakes for the

wheels.

We need to get this thing to

stop wobbling before time's up.

Oh, you're a terrible cowboy.

Leave it to somebody from Texas.

Let's go test it.

All right, let's go.

Are you guys ready to be my

dogs?

Yeah, right.

You're pulling it.

Is that a whip?

She spent that time making a

whip.

You'd better do what I tell

you, because if not...

Okay, yes, ma'am.

Ready?

All right, Ana, hop up.

Be gentle.

What, you're scared?

Go.

Ah!

Are you all right?

Wait, what just happened?

I don't know, but that hurt.

So what this is going to do

is give the handlebar more

support.

So these are going to stop

this from going forward and

back.

back.

So we have a Juan seal of

approval?

Exactly.

That means, nothing, because

"anyjuan" can do it.

Oh, come on, now.

Come on!

Mush.

Okay, don't lean left.

Mush.

My dogs listen to me, Wes.

Yeah, man.

Go right, go right, go right!

I said go right.

I was going right.

This thing ran right into the

road.

What a buzzkill.

We don't have that much time,

so how are we going to fix this?

I don't know.

Right now it's just not

looking too good.

Like, thus far, I can't walk

away from it and say, "We

definitely got this in the bag,"

because I have no idea.

Yeah, of course we have a

winning design.

I mean, it feels like I'm on

snow, except I'm on grass, I'm

in Jamaica.

Yeah, yeah!

That looks good.

We'll see if Wes keeps his

winning streak alive when the

teams head to Jamaica.

Hey, Lindsey, there's so much

more action on our Web site.

Yeah, behind-the-scenes stuff

like our blogs.

Not to mention you can watch

full episodes.

Play games and build cool

projects.

Awesome.

Next time onDesign Squad...

Welcome to Jamaica!

...the race is on.