Milking Machinery Types

Milking equipment is broadly classified into two categories: fixed and mobile. Fixed equipment is further divided into three types: bucket milking, pipe milking, and milking parlor milking. Bucket milking equipment assembles the milking machine and a hand-held milk bucket together, allowing the milk to flow directly into the bucket; it is suitable for tethered cow sheds. Pipe milking equipment delivers the milk through pipes to the milking parlor, reducing contamination and labor intensity; it is suitable for tethered cow sheds in medium-sized dairy farms with around 300 cows. Milking parlor milking equipment allows cows to enter the milking parlor sequentially along a designated path; the milk is then piped into the parlor, resulting in high equipment utilization. Milking parlor equipment comes in various layouts, including parallel, herringbone, and rotary milking parlors. The milking parlor also includes a feeder for concentrates, making it suitable for large free-range, penned dairy farms with around 500 cows. Mobile milking equipment mounts the milking machine and vacuum system on a cart or a movable milking table, suitable for milking in pastures.

Based on their level of automation, milking equipment can be divided into three main categories: manual, semi-automatic, and fully automatic. Fully automatic milking equipment is characterized by a high degree of automation and intelligence, and is widely used in modern large-scale dairy farms.