Milking machines
Milking machines (milking installations) are devices for automating the milking of animals (cows / goats / sheep). Among the huge number of milking machines that exist on the modern market of agricultural equipment, you can find the optimal device that will fully meet the volume and needs of any livestock complex (for both small and large numbers of animals).
Classification and types of milking installations
Milking installations have the following components in their design: electric motors, vacuum pumps for the milking machine, vacuum gauges, vacuum cylinders, vacuum pipelines, milking buckets.
Milking machines can be classified only according to their technical characteristics. Today, the absolute majority of milking devices are vacuum systems of milking units that have the same principle of operation. They differ from each other only in the following parameters:
Milking method: in 2 or 3 cycles. Modern compact milking machines are most often two-stroke.
Design of milking glasses: single- and double-chambered. Two-chamber glasses are the most common.
Number of simultaneously serviced animals. Compact milking machines are most often designed for simultaneous milking of 1/2 cows / sheep / goats. Large milking installations can milk dozens of animals at the same time.
Collection of milk: in cans or through pipelines. In compact milking machines, the milk usually enters the can, and pipelines are used only in large stationary installations.
However, the most interesting is the classification of milking machines according to the method of creating pulsations of air pressure (vacuum) in the milking cups.
In the modern world, there are two main methods:
with the help of a pulsator (in this case, a centrifugal pump is used, which creates a constant vacuum).
with the help of a piston pump (in this case, the role of a pulsator is played by a pump that provides a change in pressure in the glasses with a certain frequency).
Both methods are used in modern mobile milking installations, but each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, the use of a pulsator complicates the design of the device and increases its cost, but it provides better milking quality.
estates of milking plants and machines
Let's list the main advantages of milking cows with a milking machine:
High speed and, importantly, efficiency in servicing cows or goats for milking. Note that one milking machine can milk two animals at once. In addition, the speed of "machine" milking is much higher than manual milking.
Obtaining absolutely pure milk. The pumping equipment of the device pumps milk directly from the cow's teat into a hermetically sealed chamber, which completely excludes the ingress of wool and animal dung or other garbage into the milk.
Improvement of quality characteristics of milk. Recent studies have shown that much more fat is stored in machine-milked milk than in hand-milked milk.
An opportunity to reduce the number of milkers, and therefore to reduce labor costs for farm workers.
Simplicity and convenience of operation of the device, the cost of which pays off after only six months of operation (depending on the number of animals on the farm).
As for the disadvantages of milking machines, they include the rather high cost of equipment, a large number of types of devices that can confuse many, and the unnaturalness of the milking process.
