How to do arm repair on a Delaval Milking Robot

Join along as I repair some worn out bearings and bushings on our Delaval robots. We have been milking with robots for 10 years now and added the 2nd robot on about 3 years ago. Thanks for watching along

[@johncook7568]

Fasinating video!! It's nearly 20 years since I've milked a cow. They were still trying to get automated milking to work back then. It's come a long way. Frees up a lot of time by the look of it.

[@DuffyAg]

Sure has come a long way, it definitely allows us to be more flexible with our schedule and chores

[@kswaynes7569]

"He finds himself in trouble all the time" sounds like your Heeler is just like you! Thanks for the tutorial/repair video tour of robots in action

[@DuffyAg]

Thanks for watching along

[@USMMCE]

I remember having an argument with a couple of my Assistant Engineers (I was a Chief Engineer on a U.S. Flag Ship) about how most of the technology that was in our Lube Oil and Fuel Oil Purifiers came from the Milk Industry. We used a bunch of Alfa Laval Purifiers and have to say they were really well designed and built. One thing though, they were very proud of their parts and the prices they charged showed it! Thanks for the great videos showing the workings of the Dairy! I'll be looking forward to more videos about the Robots.

[@DuffyAg]

Thats neat, they definitely charge for the quality we see that in everything still. Thanks for watching along

[@dutchyFal]

i like your video, here a fellow Delaval VMS mechanic, that crack is quiete common, we change the lower part underneith the camera for a custom stainless steel one, the aluminiums doesnt last long. Love your company van, all the best from holland💙🐄

[@poutineoperator2325]

Those milking robots are really cool😮

[@jordanmpaul]

Real cool to see these working. My family used to milk their cows YEARS ago. Like pre 1970s, but alot of the milking stuff was still in the barn when I grew up in the 90s. All unused and outdated by that time. It was a DeLaval system also. Probably state of the art in its time.

[@colehenry1079]

Love to see some in-depth of the robots, what all they can monitor in the cows and the lifestyle of having robots! Keep it up!

[@robcooper5813]

Enjoy finding out about robots, would like to see more videos on how you manage the robots.

[@scottbohn929]

Very interesting & thanks for showing robotic milking. I grew up on a dairy farm and tie stall milking was the only type of milking I’ve ever done.

[@DuffyAg]

We milked 3x in tie stall prior to robots

[@arwalthert9381]

@@DuffyAg did you even have time for a cold one after 3rd shift?

[@jimkavalier2831]

My uncle quit milking when the dairy said No more cans, must switch to bulk.... times have changed and I'm only 46... good to see Yenko!

[@adamsmddwg]

wow that is amazing how the cow knows when to get milked... robots work great and never seen the process ... Used to do it old school lot of work involved compared to now

[@paulr5875]

Very Interesting Duffy. Thanks!

[@danne77sthlm]

Always fun to see these robots since I was in with the testing and developing for these machines in Tumba here in Sweden (when they where named Alfa Laval still) where they tested and tried them out on their testing farm, and also still so fun to see that some cows still gets upset if you need to stop the units and do something with them :)

[@country8184]

The milking robot is pretty cool. I've never seen one before until now

[@gailroon2215]

Thought you must do more than haul manure and fix tractors ,awesome education u have. This is my wife's phone would be nice to come and visit your farm!

[@lynneckmann9915]

WOW !!! Milking has changed a lot in last 25 years, we had a pit with double 4’s, 2 times a day 50-60 cow, it would have been nice to have back then when you was out night before drinking with your buddy’s. LOL

[@jessebitler8956]

Appreciate the robot video. We run galaxy's so its neat to see how the other brands work

[@keithhackman9627]

What do think of them? We are looking into getting robots, leaning towards galaxy but want to hear from people that have them.

[@jessebitler8956]

@@keithhackman9627 we get along well with them. As with any machine they are good as long as you maintain them like you should.

[@timadams3486]

WOW that's cool. Something different. Thanks

[@whit4275]

That beats the heck out of the Germania machines we had in early 90's.

[@DuffyAg]

Milking equipment has come so far in the last 15-20 years its been crazy

[@JohnDoe-gq8tt]

THANK YOU

[@Lfig012]

Very interesting...thanks

[@Glamrock01]

Great Vid, very interesting......from UK.

[@paulcoulter7181]

I bet it’s nice having your own parts department sitting in the driveway

[@DuffyAg]

We have always had a large parts supply on the farm since when we started the dealership was 3 and a half hours away. It is very nice having my parts van, anything I possibly need I have with me

[@paulcoulter7181]

I service 150 rental properties in The Baton Rouge Louisiana area so I have a ton of parts in my van.

[@davidwhittredge3416]

Very interesting

[@Farmboy-fs5xw]

Great video I really enjoyed it!

[@AlbertaRanch]

For some weird reason I could watch robot milkers all day, lol.

[@DuffyAg]

They are awesome to watch

[@stephenbutz7067]

You just saved the farm a big robot repair and maintenance bill 🙂🙃🙂😃

[@virendsouza6359]

My Orkel compactor has brass bushings instead of chamber bearings and they last forever IF you keep them greased, which is why they all come with automatic greasers.....I used to fix VMSs too and no one greased those arm bushings.

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

I really like your robot milkers and I think the cows do too. I watch 10th generation dairy and with our cows we sort of bribed them in with food. I see two round containers in front of the cow with open bottoms. Do those feed them? It would pay you to grease these jobbies yourself to keep the wear down and more quickly move the cow through. I see priorities seem to ease off when you aren't there putting the milkers on. 6.5 minutes average seems normal to me counting the time for milking and not getting up at 4 am. Do you have robot feeders too? That takes a while too even with a food mixing machine.

[@DuffyAg]

The robots feed pellet based on days in milk and production. That is all done by the software. I do grease the fittings during maintenance every 4 months get 2 year plus out of the bushings usually. No robot feeders in the barn thats a very European thing with how they feed at the bunk and the cost on concentrates, there is some external feed stations in the states tho. Feeding in robots takes some balancing with the nutritionist and understanding how to balance energy to really keep cows wanting to move and be productive

[@SbrGrendel65]

Thanks interesting to see how the process is today. So after calving how long can you milk the Cow until she drys up?

[@DuffyAg]

Dairy cows have 9 months of carrying a calf. 2 of which are during dry cow period prior to calving back in. So it depends when they are bred back. Usually 50-90 days after calving id when it is optimal to breed a cow back

[@jimwalker8151]

Good explanation of robots, do you find sand causes a lot of troubles ?

[@DuffyAg]

Sand can wear parts out quicker just like in any other applications. I have some barns I work with who have more abrasive sand then others. Its great for cows but bad for machinery

[@michaelkoop6731]

That is hella cool.

[@jeffreykielwasser3637]

Those bushings look like Chevy truck door pin bushings from the 88 to 98 trucks

[@corkhayman5064]

New to the channel. Enjoy your content. May I ask, is this your farm? Just getting a back story. Sorry if it’s been asked and answered already. Great videos!

[@DuffyAg]

Thanks for watching along. I farm with my father he is 1st generation we milk 120 cows located in carlisle Massachusetts. I also have my own custom farming which covers harvesting tractor work and manure hauling. I do work for the local dairy equipment company working with robots.

[@gailroon2215]

Quite an investment !

[@Dairyland-Dairyman]

We have tossed the idea of robotic milking around. What is your opinion on retro fitting into and existing free stall set up? How much water does it use per cow a milking? I have talked to different reps at farm shows and none of them have been able to really give me an answer.

[@DuffyAg]

Most of the farms i work with now are retro fits due to barns being in good shape and the cost of a new facility, the biggest thing with a retro fit is expectations. New barns are built for efficiency and you do not see the same efficiency gains in retro fits while going to robots. If you are looking to replace labor as far as milking and become better managers and focus more on cows then retro fits work awesome same as in New barns. Tasks of cleaning and bedding cows is usually the biggest increase in New barns. A robot uses roughly 1-1.5 gallons a day of water depending on wash numbers amount of floor flushing and length of teat cleaning. That includes washes. So 180 gallons to 200 or so gallons a day. Biggest use of water in my eyes is washing things down. How aggressive that is changes water usage alot.

[@frankkokoski7995]

Do they get grain feed to them while being milked

[@DuffyAg]

Yes they receive grain while in the robot that is calibrated out based on milk production and days in milk

[@bill1962us1]

I see Richardson's Farm in Middleton is putting up a new milking parlor - are they using your robots there and are you doing the install

[@DuffyAg]

Thats one of my current installs. Cows are moving into the barn on Monday and we are planning to start up in the next month. Going to be a awesome facility

[@bryanG4020]

Watching them milk are always interesting, I've only been around the lely astronauts tho

[@DuffyAg]

Lely is a good brand to

[@farmerbill6855]

Interesting, full disclosure, I'm not one for robotic milkers. But I guess you need to get $2 a gallon milk somewhere. A question, if for some reason those things go down, are you able to carry on milking conveniently? Best regards from Indiana.

[@DuffyAg]

Whats $2 a gallon have to do with it? We have only had them go down to the point we couldn't milk once. Power company surged the system and smoked our phase converter. We rented a 3 phase generator and now have a back up. That was prior to having more in the area. If something happens on the arm you can manually attach cups and wash. I work for the local dealership and worked for corporate delaval prior. I can fix anything on them and have seen just about anything, the going down isn't the major issue its just diagnosing them that takes the skill and knowledge. When we put one in 10 years ago no one had faith it would last but I see it as the only way to milk cows in the future, we struggle with labor. Could pay 20 dollars an hr and still can't get good consistent labor, also being diversified we are spread out with the labor we have.

[@farmerbill6855]

@@DuffyAg easy there. I'm not taking a stand either way. $2 milk is what people want and what they'll get. My concern was for the welfare of the animals, not the economics, or a political view.

[@DuffyAg]

2 dollar milk definitely doesn't come from robots tho, not with the increase in up front cost. Cows live a better life in robots then any other operation, its crazy how relaxed robot barns become after start up. People stir cows up and cause problems cows being cows is top notch.

[@farmerbill6855]

@@DuffyAg I am just lamenting that's the price in the grocery store. Again, I grew up on a dairy farm, cows need to be milked. I just wondered how much of a hardship if any, it would be if your robots went down. Manpower, alternative milkers, etc. Or for that matter, how long they could be down without a real problem.

[@jimwalker8151]

Do you have the new 300 in your area the guys here really like them 99 % cow attachment

[@DuffyAg]

We have 5 units to put in over 3 farms of the new 300 models. We have alot of farms that run very high attachment rates currently so it will be even better with the new models, the biggest change for the new models in our eyes are the technical access for us as technicians

[@anthonymoser46]

Hmm wonder how hard it would be to git set up in Arkansas

[@GilmerJohn]

It's interesting to note that the same guy that invented solutions for the milk industry also invented Steam Turbines.

[@k1ngZ4PP4]

Dang this shit is crazy.. never would have guessed this is how its done..

[@mikeriley7330]

That surely beats milking in a tie stall getting slapped in the face by shitty tail at 4AM in the morning

[@DuffyAg]

Thats for sure, I had no interest in milking cows before the robots

[@Jaxon-iu6vb]

What is your relationship with the farm that you work on? Are you a partial owner or employee/contractor with your own equipment or something else?

[@DuffyAg]

I am just a employee on the farm its my family's operation and technically I'm next in line for it but no transition plans are made currently. Then I am considered custom farming operation since the chopper some trucks the 7520 and all thr manure hauling equipment is under my own business and is hired in.

[@Jaxon-iu6vb]

Thanks for the clarification.

[@robbybachmann8061]

The robots are very interesting. The neighboring farm to mine jidt put in 2 new delaval vms300s

[@DuffyAg]

Where are you located?

[@robbybachmann8061]

@@DuffyAg British Columbia, Canada.

[@DuffyAg]

Always wish I had made it their while working for delaval. Facilities look amazing and beautiful country

[@robbybachmann8061]

@@DuffyAg yes the land here is very gorgeous. And if u ever find your self coming to BC feel free to stop by some small town called pitt meadows and ill show u around!

[@beccahasbrook476]

How many times can they get milk in a day

[@DuffyAg]

We have some that will milk up to 5. On average we are between 2.7 and 2.8. Want to milk all the fresh cows 4 times or more

[@edniemyjski3303]

do you know brice johnson he works for delaval.

[@DuffyAg]

I know the name but never actually met him, he's retired now I believe

[@edniemyjski3303]

@@DuffyAg brice is from my neck of the woods and is married to good friends of mine sister.

[@jefferytrice9180]

Robots are interesting milk in a tie stall and parlor all my life. Probably helps with a slightly lopsided udder cow having individual inflations but you can’t have them old sag bag road warrior cows in a robot facility lol.

[@DuffyAg]

They definitely do help with none even udders and they do attach to low udders, may take longer

[@gm558]

intro plays twice, that is a bit of an upsie on the editing : D

[@DuffyAg]

Didn't even notice that as I pre watched it. Pretty obvious now

[@farmertyler8087]

“GO PRO STOP RECORDING!!!!😤😤”

[@bobmorse3513]

Are there any other dairy farms near you and anybody have any jerseys im from ct

[@emilypeterison2465]

question on the milking robot we have some cow lost one tit injection yea do they know does get milked too curious to know that, we have DeLaval milking parlour too not a robot one we do milk a lot more cows to them your yea when some do break like a weld my aunt laugh when she gets to fix it yea she tig welds stainless as part of her job yea she is a red seal welder too yea she qualified to weld lol

[@DuffyAg]

Your asking if it milks 3 quarter cows? You can program it to milk a 1 quarter of the cow if you want it to. You tell it in the computer if the teat exists (so it knows to look for it) and if it is to be milked. Thanks for watching along where are you located?

[@emilypeterison2465]

@@DuffyAg yes thank you for this too

[@emilypeterison2465]

@@DuffyAg I am sure another dairy framers have questions about the robots to it your channel and time and will if your boss willing to answer questions on a live stream one night yea you do have a very interesting job too have thankyou very much