Afikim Afi-lite Plus User manual

A
fi-lite Plus
Milk Meter
(Product number 4098999)
User Manual


¬
http
February 27, 2003
Kibbutz Afikim, 15148, ISRAEL
[phone]
[phone]
[email protected]
www.afimilk.co.il
This manual P/N 9040310
TM

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February 27, 2003 Afi-lite User Manual
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Overview ................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2: The Milk Meter Control Box ................................................ 3
Key functions.......................................................................................... 8
Operating the Afi-lite Milk Meter........................................................... 5
Milking with Afi-lite milk meters ....................................................... 5
Cow and Milk Information Accessible from Afi-lite........................11
Milking Codes and Messages................................................................. 9
Milking Codes...................................................................................13
Messages ........................................................................................... 16
Chapter 3: Cleaning Routine................................................................... 19
Warnings : ...........................................................................................19
Recommendations: ............................................................................... 19
General Instructions..............................................................................20
Cleaning Cycle ..................................................................................... 20
Detergent Wash.................................................................................21
Acid Wash.........................................................................................22
Operation in Cleaning Mode ................................................................ 22
Chapter 4: Milk Meter Body and Fat Sampler ...................................... 23
The Milk Meter Body, Structure and Components ..............................24
Silicone and Rubber Component Replacement....................................26
The Fat Sampler....................................................................................27
Mounting the Fat Sampler................................................................. 27
Fat Sampler Operation ...................................................................... 27
Chapter 5: Troubleshooting .................................................................... 29
Premature cluster removal alert............................................................29
Error messages......................................................................................29
E01 Error Message............................................................................ 29
E02 Error Message............................................................................ 29
E03 Error Message............................................................................ 29
Maintenance and Troubleshooting ....................................................... 30
Index......................................................................................................... 31

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February 27, 2003 Afi-lite User Manual
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Updates
to the Afi-lite Plus user manual
Through out this manual, the term Afilite milk meter refers to the Af-lite Plus milk
meter.
This table is a list of updates inserted into this manual.
Page Subject of update Date of update
5 The appearance of the 7 segment display, when starting up,
has been corrected. June 17, 2003
6
(one sheet)
Stimulation activation instructions are added. July 27, 2003
9
10
(one sheet)
When assigned to an animal, ALL milking codes (1-8)
deactivate the key. May 20, 2003
11 Table depicting how codes are displayed is updated. May 20, 2003
15 When entering milk meter ID number,
press and (not 6 key). June 19, 2003
16
(one sheet)
The Milk Flow Rate formula has been updated. July 27, 2003
30 Error message
E05 is added to troubleshooting. June 17, 2003

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February 27, 2003 Afi-lite User Manual 1
Chapter 1: Overview
The Afi-lite milk meter is installed at every milking point and performs the
following tasks during milking:
• Measures the amount of milk produced.
• Measures conductivity of the milk.
• Controls Automatic Cluster Removal (ACR).
• Displays cow information.
• Alerts milkers to health and milking irregularities.
The S.A.E. Afikim Afi-lite milk meter is made up of two units:
• The Afi-lite control box.
• The Afi flo milk meter body.

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The Afi-lite milk meter control box
Chapter 2: The Milk Meter Control Box
This chapter describes operation of the Afi-lite milk meter control box.

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Key functions
The keys, and their functions, are described below. At the press of each key
side lights glow on the sides of the control box, to verify contact.
The Start key: Press this key to start milking.
Press the start key twice rapidly when:
 The cow at the milking point is not identified.
After manually entering the cow number, press
twice rapidly to start milking.
 A milking code has deactivated the start key. The cow
may need special attention if this occurs (page 9).
After the making the necessary preparations, press
twice rapidly to start milking.
The Stop key: Pressing this key manually stops milking and activates
cluster removal.
After the cluster removal process is finished, pressing this key
lowers the cluster. Pressing it again returns the cluster to the
upper position. This is helpful when adjusting cluster tubes.
This also enables you to attach the cluster to the jetter while
other cows are still being milked.
The Cancel ACR key: Afi-lite will detach the cluster
automatically, when the milk flow rate drops to a
predefined level. Manual detachment is
performed to override this mechanism. Pressing
this key cancels the automatic cluster removal.
The red LED in this key is illuminated when the
Automatic Cluster Removal is cancelled.
If the Cancel ACR is activated, the milker must
press the stop key ( ) to manually remove
the cluster,
when the cow has finished milking.
The Cleaning Mode key:
The red LED in this key is illuminated when the milk
meter is in Cleaning Mode.
Press this key to toggle between milking mode and
cleaning mode.
The Cow Identification key: Press this key to see the number of
the cow identified at the milking point.
The Conductivity key: Press this key to display the milk conductivity
of the cow at the milking point. The milk
conductivity of mastitic cows is usually higher than
normal. If a milk alert is displayed, compare the
conductivity to the expected conductivity, as
described on page 7.

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Operating the Afi-lite Milk Meter
This section contains instructions on the milking process and on displaying cow
information.
Milking with Afi-lite Milk Meters
1. Turn on the milk meters. appears. ( indicates pulsation.)
Then for several seconds the identification number of each milking point
appears:
(for example ), followed by .
The LED in the cleaning mode key glows, indicating that the milk
meter is in cleaning mode.
In stand-alone systems after the identification appears, is
displayed.
2. Press the key of each Afi-lite milk meter. This cancels the
cleaning mode and the milk meter enters into milking mode.
3. Press the key of each milk meter. This shuts off the vacuum
and retracts the cluster.
4. Bring the cows into the milking parlor. As each cow is identified at
her milking point, her cow number is displayed on the control panel
(for example ).
• If the cow at a station is not identified, continues
to flash. (In a stand-alone system continues to be
displayed.)
If a cow number is not displayed, type the number of the cow and
then press .
• If the cow has been assigned a code, such as (“colostrum cow”), the
code will flash alternately with the cow number .
More information on codes and messages is in the following section.
this page updated June 16, 2003

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5. To start milking, press the key. This starts the vacuum and
releases the cluster.
If a code is assigned to the cow:
a. Make the necessary preparations as required by the code.
b. Press (twice rapidly) to start milking.
Stimulation The default setting is without stimulation pulsation:
• To activate pulsation, press
(twice rapidly) to start milking with stimulation.
• If a code is assigned to the cow, and if you want to activate stimulation:
a. Make the necessary preparations as required by the code.
b. Press (three times rapidly)
to start milking with stimulation.
6. Attach the cluster.
(Very slow cows are milked with ACR deactivated. To
deactivate the ACR press the ACR Cancel key ( ).
The red LED glows, indicating that ACR is deactivated. When
the cow has finished milking, press the key to shut off
the vacuum and retract the cluster.)
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each cow.
While milking is in process, the milk yield appears in the display. In addition,
the milker can view the conductivity and additional cow information, as
described in the following section.
8. Cluster removal occurs when the milk flow rate drops below a predefined
level. The ACR function shuts off the vacuum and retracts the cluster.
9. When all of the cows in the row are finished milking, release the
cows and repeat the process starting from step 4. The display is reset
when is pressed.
WARNINGS:
1. Automatic cluster removal does not take place in this mode.
Therefore, preventing over-milking—that is, manually
stopping the milking—is the full responsibility of the milker.
2. The Afi-lite milk meter does not automatically reset to ACR
mode. To restore ACR for the next cow, press the Cancel
ACR key. The red LED in the key turns off, indicating that
ACR is activated.
this page updated: July 27, 2003

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Cow and Milk Information Accessible from Afi-lite
Important information on each cow and her milk can be read from the Afi-lite milk
meter, where the cow is identified.
Identification Information
Cow Number: Press to see the number of the cow identified at
the milking point.
Cow number displays with communication protocol
C2000 (default protocol):
If a cow number has more than four digits (ex. 12,345),
the last four digits are displayed, and a point appears after
the first digit displayed to indicate there are more digits in
the cow number. For example: 2345 . Press and hold
to see the first digits of the number. If the first
digit is a letter, a “ – ” indicates a letter. For example: cow
number A123 is displayed as –123 .
Group Number: Press and simultaneously to
see the group number of the cow identified at the
milking point.
Milking Point (Stall) Number: Press and simultaneously to
see milking point number of the Afi-lite milk meter.
Milking Information
Expected Yield: Press and simultaneously to see
the expected milk yield of the cow at the milking
point.
Conductivity: Press to see the milk conductivity of the cow
being milked.
Expected Conductivity: An increase in milk conductivity indicates possible
mastitis. The Afi-lite milk meter automatically
measures the milk's electrical conductivity.
Conductivity level may be read either during or after
milking.
Press and simultaneously to see
the expected milk conductivity of the cow.
Milk Flow Rate (momentary): Press and to see the milk flow
rate of the present milking, in units (kilograms or
pounds) per minute.

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Milk Flow Rate (average): Press and to see the average milk
flow rate of the cow being milked.
Milking Time (“claw on” time): Press and to see the milking
time of the cow at the milking point.
Calender Information
Days after Heat: Press and
simultaneously to see the number of days
that have passed since the cows last heat
cycle.
Days in Milk (DIM): Press and
simultaneously to see the number of days
that have passed since the cow calved.
Days after Insemination: Press and
simultaneously to see the number of days
that have passed since the cow was last
inseminated.
Calving Date: Press and
simultaneously to see the date when the
cow calved. The numbers displayed are the
day and month, as defined in AfiFarm
(day day month month, or month month
day day)
Insemination Date: Press and
simultaneously to see the date when the
cow was last inseminated. The numbers
displayed are the day and month, as defined
in AfiFarm
(day day month month, or month month
day day)

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Messages, Milking Codes and Alerts
Milking codes, and messages are a means of communication between milkers and the computer.
Messages are sent by milkers from a
milk meter to the computer.
Messages are explained
on page 12.
Milking codes are sent from the
computer to a milk meter. Codes
warn milkers of cows that need
special attention.
Milking codes are explained below.
Alerts are calculated from real-time data. Alerts are explained on the following page.
Milking Codes
Numbers 1 through 8 are used by the computer as code numbers to alert milkers to situations
where special attention is needed. (For example: a cow with colostrum is assigned code 8
“colostrum cow.”) If the cow identified is assigned a code, the code number is displayed
before milking. Some codes display additional alerts.
When the cow identified is assigned a code, the key is temporarily deactivated. After
making the necessary preparations, milking is started by pressing twice rapidly. When
triggered, the code number flashes alternately with the cow number. For example, if cow
1305 has just calved:
.
Codes 1 through 8 can be assigned to (and canceled from) cows from Afi-lite milk meters,
in the parlor. (Assigning codes is explained in the following section on messages).
For example, if the cow presently at the milking point is number 1322, and you have just
given her antibiotics, you can assign a code to designate her treatment. Code 7 can be used
to designate a cow treated with antibiotics. From the Afi-lite milk meter, you can send a
message to enter code 7 into the database of cow 1322. If this is done, then during the
following milkings, when cow 1322 is identified at a milking point, flashes
alternately with before milking, and the key is deactivated. This alerts
milkers that cow 1322 has received antibiotics (and her milk needs to be diverted). After the
milker has arranged the milk line to divert the milk, he or she can start milking by pressing
the start key twice rapidly + . When the cow has finished milking, the code
flashes again (and reminds milkers to reconnect the milk line).
Milkers must know the meaning of each milking code, and action to be
taken, when a code is flashing.
The cow number flashes
alternately with code
indicating a “colostrum cow.”
this page updated June 19, 2003

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Codes 5, and 8 – Afi-lite Alerts
Of the eight “milking codes” (1-8), most codes can be used to determine situations as
determined by the herd manager. Two codes 5 and 8, are predetermined in AfiFarm as
alerts in specific situations.
Code 5 designates a dry cow. If a dry cow is identified at a milking point,
this code is triggered.
This alert helps prevent milkers from attaching a cluster to a dry cow.
This alert is automatically removed upon calving, when a calving date
is entered. It can also be assigned to, or removed from a cow, at the
Afi-lite milk meter.
Code 8 designates a colostrum cow. Code 8 is automatically assigned to a cow
upon calving, when the calving date is entered. This alert helps remind
milkers to divert the colostrum. After cluster removal,
flashes again, to remind milkers to reconnect the milk line. This code is
automatically removed after a number of milkings (as defined by the
herd manager in AfiFarm). It can also be assigned to, or removed from
a cow, at the Afi-lite milk meter.
Variable Codes
The remaining “milking codes” (1 – 4, 6 and 7), can be used to designate situations
as desired by the herd manager.
For example, code 3 may be used to warn milkers to milk only three quarters of the udder,
and code 4 may warn milkers to use a big cluster on a cow with large udders. Code 7 is also
displayed after cluster removal. Therefore this code may be appropriate for situations
where milk needs to be diverted, such as with cows under antibiotics.
In AfiFarm, define the properties of each variable code that you use.
Click Insert Code to define codes. Adding codes and defining their properties are
detailed in the AfiFarm User Manual.
Alerts
During milking, milk yield and conductivity are monitered closely. This data is
constantly compared with expected milk yield and conductivity (real-time). If
different than expected, one of three alerts may be triggered:
Alert 9 – A flashing 9 designates a lower milk yield and a high conductivity. This
combination usually indicates that the cow has mastitis. This alert is
triggered after cluster removal.
Premature Cluster Removal – milk yield flashes, and LEDs flash, after cluster removal.
(Milking machine may have fallen off.)
High Conductivity – When conductivity is higher than expected:
• Milk yield flashes throughout the milking and after cluster
removal, until the milk meter is reset.
• LEDs flash for 30 seconds during milking. After cluster
removal, LEDs flash another 30 seconds.
(High conductivity indicates that the cow may be mastitic.)
Display of Codes and Alerts
When triggered, code numbers flash alternately with the cow number or with milk yields. The
table on the following page depicts how and when each code, and each alert, is displayed.
this page updated June 19, 2003

February 27, 2003 Afi-lite User Manual 11
Codes:
Display of Code
Before
Milking
During
Milking
After Cluster
Removal
Code
Num-
ber
Situation that
Code
Designates Code alternates with cow #
Codes 4-8, LEDs flash.
Code alternates with yield
and LEDs flash.
1
Variable - as determined
by herd manager
2 Variable -
as determined
by herd manager
3 Variable -
as determined
by herd manager
4 Variable -
as determined
by herd manager
5 “Dry cow”
6 Variable -
as
determined by herd
manager
7
As determined by
herd manager (Often
used to designate an
“antibiotic cow.”)
8 “Colostrum cow”
To see a code
during milking,
press and hold
.
The code alternates
with the cow
number.
Alerts
Mastitis alert
Premature cluster removal
(Milk yield flashes after
cluster removal.)
(Flashing milk yield)
Conductivity higher than
expected (Milk field flashes
until milk meter is reset.
LEDs flash for 30 seconds
during milking and again after
cluster removal.)
(Flashing milk yield,
LEDs flash 30 seconds)
If the milk yield flashes after removal, check expected milk yield (press and )
as well as expected conductivity ( and ) to identify the problem.
Display of Milking Codes and Alerts
8
8
5
23
7
7
8
8
2
2
I
I
3
3
4
4
5
5
7
7
6
6
8
37
9
9
this page updated June 19, 2003
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Messages
Messages can be sent from an Af-lite milk meter to the computer. A message can be
sent to the computer database, to make a notation on a cow, and is seen at the computer,
when reviewing reports. One message per cow can be sent, per milking.
A message is first entered into the milk meter. Then, when the exit gate is opened, the
message is loaded into the computer, together with milk data of the cow.
For example: A milker may note that cow 1299 is limping. He or she may want to inform
the herd manager, who will shortly be looking at reports in the computer. The
number “34” may be designated as a message that signifies a limping cow. To
do this, at the milk meter where cow 1299 is identified, the milker enters the
message “34”. When the exit gate is opened, the message is loaded into the
computer. When the herd manager reviews the Milking reports, he or she will
see message “34” assigned to cow 1299 and be alerted to the cows condition.
Numbers from 01 to 99 are used to send messages. Some of these numbers are
predetermined, and they are used to assign a code, cancel a code, or to send a letter.
Predetermined Messages
As detailed in the table below, certain messages (specific numbers), are
predetermined for specific purposes:
• Messages 01-08 assign codes 1 – 8.
• Messages 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, and 88 cancel codes.
• Messages consisting of numbers in the 90’s send letters to the database
of the cow in the computer.
Predetermined Message 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
Code Assigned 12 3 4 5 6 7 8
Predetermined Message 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88
Code Cancelled 12 3 4 5 6 7 8
Predetermined Message 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
Letter Assigned A B C D E F G H I J
Variable Messages
Any two-digit number, that is not a predetermined number, is free to be used as any
notation desired by the herd manager. The herd manager can designate a free
number to mean a certain message, as explained in the example above.
Milkers should know the numbers and meanings of predetermined messages as well
as messages that the herd manager has designated.
Sending a Message
To send a message to the computer:
1. Type two 0’s and the two digit number of the message you want to send.
2. Press to enter the message. When the exit gate is opened, the message
will be sent to the computer.

February 27, 2003 Afi-lite User Manual 13
Example A: To send a message to the computer that cow 1299 is limping
(if the number 34 is designated as the message for “limping cow”):
At the milk meter where cow 1299 is identified, press:
and then press .
The message is entered into the milk meter. When the exit gate is opened,
the message is loaded into the computer and assigned to cow 1299. After
the message is entered, the milk meter display returns to its previous
reading.
Example B: A message can be sent to assign a code to a cow. As in the example on
page 9, to assign cow 1322 code 7:
At the milk meter where cow 1322 is identified, press:
and then press .
The message is entered into the milk meter and ready to be loaded into
the computer when the exit gate is opened. When the exit gate is opened,
the message will be sent and code 7 will be assigned to cow 1322. The
milk meter display returns to its previous reading after the message is
entered.
Example C: A message can be sent to delete (cancel) a code from a cow. For
example, to cancel code 2 from cow 1405:
At the milk meter where 1405is identified, press:
and then press .
The message is entered and ready to be sent. When sent, code 2 will be
deleted from cow 1405.
Example D: To send a message consisting of the letter Dto the database of cow 1460:
At the milk meter where cow 1460 is identified, press:
and then press .
The message is entered and ready to be sent (loaded in) to the computer.
When sent (when the exit gate is opened), the letter Dis assigned to the
database of cow 1405.
Viewing a Message that has been Entered into the Milk Meter
To view a message that is entered and “waiting” to loaded into the computer (the exit
gate has not yet been opened):
Press and simultaneously.
Cancelling a Message
To cancel a message (if the exit gate has not yet been opened):
Press and then press to
cancel a message that was entered and “waiting” to be loaded into the computer.

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