Teacups

Not to be confused with teacup.

A teacups ride in operation at Linnanmäki park.

Teacups is an amusement ride characterized by cup-style spinning vehicles atop a turntable-like floor.

Typically, each set of six teacups has a center bearing mounted underneath, similar to a car wheel bearing mounted on a circular floor capable of turning 360 degrees. The circular floor of the cup sits on a larger turntable-like floor. This is driven by a motor through a starting device, the ride when started begins to spin slowly and build up speed as the operator applies more power. When in operation, the ride operator spins each cup while the turntable spins the entire ride base. They are driven by a motor fixed to the base in either the middle or the outside, the motor fixed in the middle will have a gearbox which changes direction as well as give the correct ratio to the desired speed. The motor fixed on the outside will again have a gearbox but will be attached to a small rubber wheel which sits along the rim under the platform. Either way the end result is achieved and under modern H&S guidelines children's rides should not spin faster than eight times per minute.

See also

• Mad Tea Party - Disney version in five of the company's global theme parks