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Introduction |
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The technical construction and the condition of the milking equipment may have an influence on udder health and milk quality. One important reason for udder damages can be the wrong positioning of the milking unit. The teats are pulled by different forces because of wrongly placed support arms and milk tubes. Regarding this problem some scientists assert that automatic milking systems (AMS) are better for udder health than conventional milking systems (CMS). AMS may be more regular in attaching the teat cups. Another aspect is the adaptability of the teat cups to different udder formations.
The aim is to simulate the forces exerted on the cows teats by teat cups attached either manually or by an AMS.
The examine these aspects and to investigate the influence of the resulting forces, different milking systems are tested, using a test machine developed by the  German Agricultural Society (DLG). Each simulated teat contains a sensor which simultaneously measures vertical, turning and horizontal longitudinal and diagonal forces to which the teat is subjected (figure).
It is possible to adjust three different udder formations (normal, stepped and wide standing). Different types of AMS and different make of CMS are tested on different farms.
The herringbone parlours 33° (HBP 33°) shows major differences between the front and rear teats (diagrams). In the side-by-side, the herringbone parlour 50° and AMS with milk module differences between the front and rear teats are not as strong as in HBP 33°. In AMS with single tube guiding it is noticeable that all teats are subjected to nearly the same force. The reason for this is the single tube guide to each teat cup. This means that the adaptability of the cluster to the stepped udder formation is good.
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Vertical forces in conventional and automatic milking systems
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Conclusions |
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The adaptability of the milking cluster in AMS with single tube guiding can be rated as very positive. All teats are subjected to nearly the same vertical force, which only results from the weight of the teat cups and tubes. Some problems were detected at the horizontal froces.
There are often problems with stepped udder formations in herringbone milking parlours 33°. There it is important to use the support arms correctly. The side-by-side and herringbone milking parlour 50° have mostly the same results. Problems were detected with the vertical forces and the horizontal forces, especially for the front teats at HBP 50°. This is a consequence of the poor to udder visibility for the milker in SbS and HBP 50° parlours.
Exactly positioning of milking cluster could help to reduce forces on the cow' teats and this would reduce the damage to teats with consequent improvement in udder health.
Reliable working techniques and the construction of clusters have a major influence on the correct positioning of the cluster in automatic milking systems. In conventional milking systems this is mainly influenced by the milker, the construction of cluster and the type of milking parlour.
In further studies these factors should be analysed exactly to obtain ideas for solving the problems mentioned above.
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