Camera cleaning study for Automatic Milking System utilizing steam at DeLaval International AB

Sammanfattning: The VMS is a robot milking system of DeLaval International AB. It has been observed that a layer of residue remains on the camera lens after cleaning. The camera is used to locate the teat and apply the milking cups. Even though after automatically cleaning with a sponge, it is very difficult to remove this layer. This study has been conducted to find out if a new cleaning station utilizing steam can have better cleaning results concerning the mentioned problem. A test setup was built to perform several tests. The boiler is capable to supply steady steam with the same pressure and temperature every milking cycle, which is approximately 8 minutes. Tests further on showed that the inside camera housing temperature not exceed 35°C, which remains under the required limit of 50°C. After the steam has cleaned the lens compressed blows and cools the remaining droplets left behind. The comparison between the sponge and the steam cleaning method confirms that the steam cleaning method is able to remove the contaminations more sufficient than the sponge. One of the contaminations is milk which is the worst kind. Studies showed that milk tends to denaturize when heated above 60°C. This could form a layer of burned proteins on the lens.