The teams must hit a home run for Del "The Dogman" Christman—local celebrity and hot dog vendor for the Lowell Spinners (a Class A affi liate of the Boston Red Sox)—who is in need of an onion dispenser to dress up his dogs.
- 1) The Challenge (4:33)
Watch the Show
Bonus Footage
Inside the Green Team
Inside the Purple Team
- 1) The Challenge (4:33)
- 2) Brainstorm (5:26)
- 3) Design (5:48)
- 4) Build & Test (8:43)
- 5) Judging (3:04)
- 1) Purple Brainstorm (0:35)
- 2) Green Brainstorm (0:30)
- 3) Chicken Dance! (1:08)
- The teams are challenged to build a chopped onion dispenser for a hot dog vendor at a minor league baseball stadium. The device must be safe, fast, and efficient. The chopped onion dispenser can be battery operated or manual, and it should only dispense the onions themselves, not the juice.
- The Green Team surveys the materials in their workspace. They think a manual system would be more efficient and easier to control than a motorized system.
- The main part of the Green Team design is a an onion hopper connected to a plunger mechanism. The onions are fed through a slot filling a small section of the plunger tube. When the plunger pulls forward, it pulls all the onions in the tube out onto the hot dog. They also design an easy-to-remove drawer underneath to catch the onion juice.
- The team cuts the stainless steel pieces to form the enclosure. They build the hopper out of wire mesh and poly-carbon. The Green Team builds and shapes the plunger system, then inserts it into the enclosure. A quick test shows the team that their design concept is successful.
- The Green Team explains to client how their onion dispenser works. He really likes the ease of use. But the customers like the Purple Team's motorized dispenser, and a few customers think the Green Team's plunger system doesn't control the amount of onions well. The Purple Team wins the challenge.
- The teams are challenged to build a chopped onion dispenser for a hot dog vendor at a minor league baseball stadium. The device must be safe, fast, and efficient. The chopped onion dispenser can be battery operated or manual, and it should only dispense the onions themselves, not the juice.
- The Purple Team sorts through the materials given at their workspace. They focus on different ways to control the amount of onions that come out of the dispenser.
- The Purple Team decides to design a motorized dispenser. They use a mesh hopper to guide the onions into a auger. The battery-powered auger turns to dispense the onions. The longer you run the motor, the more onions you get. A stainless steel enclosure supports the motor and keeps the onions clean. A pan on the bottom collects the juice and any onion overflow.
- The Purple Team attaches the motor to the auger and places it into a groove at the bottom of the hopper. They cut sheets of stainless steel to form the enclosure. They decide to make the front of the enclosure clear so that customers can see the onions. The team installs the motor, and after a quick test, they are satisfied with their design.
- The Purple Team shows off their motorized onion dispenser to the client. He loves the control by a touch of a button. The client lets a few customers test the two dispensers, and they all like how easy it is to press the button. The Purple Team wins the challenge.
Curtis and Becky design baseball bats for Rawlings Sporting Goods. Watch this.
Make your own string instrument! Write a song, add a beat, and play it back.