LELY ASTRONAUT A3 Next User manual

Lely Industries N.V. Dairy Equipment
ASTRONAUT A3
Milking Robot
Operator Manual
D-H001.0609EN
English Original

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TRADEMARKS, COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
Lely, Astronaut, Atlantis, Hibiscus, Lotus, Splendimo, Astri®, Astrodata, Calm, Commodus, Compedes,
Cosmix, Discovery, E-link, Fertiliner, Gravitor, Grazeway, Hubble, Lely Center, Lelywash, Luna, Pura, Shuttle,
T4C, Time for Cows and Viseo are registered trademarks of the Lely Group. The right of exclusive use belongs
to the companies of the Lely Group. All rights reserved. The information given in this publication is provided for
information purposes only and does not constitute an offer for sale. Certain products may not be available in
individual countries and products supplied may differ from those illustrated. No part of this publication may be
copied or published by means of printing, photocopying, microfilm or any other process whatsoever without
prior permission in writing by Lely Holding NV. Although the contents of this publication have been compiled
with the greatest possible care, Lely cannot accept liability for any damage that might arise from errors or
omissions in this publication.
Copyright © 2006 Lely Industries N.V.
All rights reserved
Lely Industries N.V.
Weverskade 110
3147 PA Maassluis
the Netherlands
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.lely.com http://www.lely.com

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LIST OF INCLUDED AMENDMENTS
No: Issue Date
(yy/mm)
Chapter(s) Remarks
01 0609 Initial Issue

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PREFACE
Manual Contents
This manual contains the information necessary to operate the ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot. It also
includes maintenance and troubleshooting information that can be done by an operator.
Study and understand this information thoroughly before you operate the robot. Failure to do so could result in
personal injury or damage to equipment.Please consult your local Lely service provider if you do not
understand the information in this manual, or if you need additional information.
All information in this manual has been compiled with care. Lely shall not be liable for errors or faults in this
manual. The recommendations are meant to serve as guidelines. All instructions, pictures and specifications in
this manual are based on the latest information that was available at the time of publication. Your milking robot
may comprise improvements, features or options that are not covered in this manual.
Applicability
The table below shows the type numbers of Astronaut milking robots for which this manual is applicable. The
last three digits (XXX) identify specific options installed with the milking robot.
Model designation
Model Type number
Astronaut Milking Robot Left Hand (LH)
Astronaut Milking Robot Right Hand (RH)
5.1103.0000 - XXX
5.1003.0000 - XXX

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Registration
The Type and Serial Number Plate is attached to the right front (RH models) or left front (LH models) of the
Astronaut milking robot. Always include the type and serial numbers of your milking robot when you contact
your local Lely service provider or order spare parts.
Type and Serial Number Plate
We suggest you complete the table below with the type and serial numbers of your milking robot. This makes
sure you can easily find the information.
Type number
Serial number

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Maintenance Authorization
WARNING
Only technicians certified by Lely Industries are authorized to do maintenanc
e
on the ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot.
If people who are not certified by Lely Industries do maintenance on the
ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot, the warranty on the ASTRONAUT A3 Milking
Robot becomes invalid.
Before a technician does maintenance on an ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot, the owner must examine the
service pass of the technician and make sure the technician is currently certified to do maintenance on the
ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot.
When a technician completes maintenance on an ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot the information must be
written in the logbook for the ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot. The logbook must always be kept near the
ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot. The information in the logbook must include:
•The maintenance done
•The name of the technician
•The certification number of the technician
•The date of the maintenance.
Technician Training
All the technicians certified by Lely Industries have completed an approved training program, and passed
written and practical examinations during and at the end of the training program. The examinations are done
under supervision of a product specialist and include troubleshooting and corrective maintenance of the
ASTRONAUT A3 Milking Robot.
There are four certification levels:
•Installation Technician (certification valid for two years)
•Maintenance Technician (certification valid for two years)
•Service Engineer (certification valid for two years)
•Product Specialist (certification valid for one year).
During training, a trainee is permitted to work for up to a maximum of six months on an ASTRONAUT A3
Milking Robot in the presence of a certified technician.
When the training program is completed successfully, Lely issue a certificate and a service pass to the
technician. The service pass contains the following information:
•The name of the technician
•A photograph of the technician
•The certification number of the technician
•The date of expiry of the certification.

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Local Maintenance Contact Number
We suggest you write the telephone number and email address of your local maintenance contact in the table
below. This makes sure you can easily find the information.
Telephone number
email address

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Table of Contents
Trademarks, Copyright and Disclaimer III
List of Included Amendments V
Preface VII
Manual Contents VII
Applicability VII
Registration VIII
Maintenance Authorization IX
Local Maintenance Contact Number X
1. Introduction 1-1
1.1 Milking Robot 1-1
1.1.1 Box 1-1
1.1.2 Machine Room 1-2
1.1.3 Robot Arm Assembly 1-2
1.1.4 X-link Control Panel 1-2
1.2 Tank Room 1-3
1.3 Office 1-3
1.4 Compressor 1-3
2. Safety 2-1
2.1 Introduction 2-1
2.2 Signal Words 2-1
2.3 Safety Instructions 2-1
2.3.1 General Safety 2-2
2.3.2 Electrical Safety 2-2
2.3.3 Installation Safety 2-2
2.3.4 Operating Safety 2-3
2.3.5 Maintenance Safety 2-3
2.4 Safety Decals 2-3
2.4.1 Safety Decal Messages 2-3
2.4.2 Maintenance of Safety Decals 2-8
2.4.3 Installation of Safety Decals 2-8

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2.5 Emergency Stop Buttons 2-8
3. Specifications 3-1
3.1 Milking Robot 3-1
3.1.1 Dimensions and Weight 3-1
3.1.2 Operation Area 3-1
3.2 Compressor Unit 3-1
3.2.1 Type 3-1
3.2.2 Dimensions and Weight 3-1
3.2.3 Output 3-1
4. Description and Operation 4-1
4.1 Introduction 4-1
4.2 Description 4-3
4.2.1 Milking Robot 4-3
4.2.2 Udder and tail shaving 4-3
4.2.3 Operator Interfaces 4-3
4.2.4 Cleaning System 4-12
4.2.5 Alarm System 4-14
5. Installation 5-1
6. Operating Instructions 6-1
6.1 Start the System 6-1
6.2 Calibrate the Robot Arm 6-2
6.3 Start the Milking Robot 6-3
6.4 Put the Milking Robot In Operation 6-4
6.5 Take the Milking Robot Out of Operation 6-5
6.5.1 Take the Robot Out of Operation (X-link) 6-5
6.5.2 Take the Robot Out of Operation (CRS+) 6-5
6.6 Extra feed 6-6
6.6.1 Switch on Extra Feed 6-6
6.6.2 Switch off Extra Feed 6-6
6.7 Empty the M4Use buckets 6-7
6.8 Empty the milk tank 6-8
6.9 Sampling 6-9
6.9.1 Preparation 6-9

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6.9.2 Change Sample Rack 6-11
6.9.3 Stop Sampling 6-11
6.10 Alarm Handling 6-13
6.10.1 Clear Active Alarms 6-13
6.10.2 Suppress Active Alarms 6-13
6.11 Cleaning System 6-14
6.11.1 X-link 6-14
6.11.2 CRS+ 6-17
6.12 Milking 6-18
6.12.1 First Milking 6-18
6.12.2 Interrupt a Visit 6-19
6.12.3 Interupt Pre-Treatment 6-19
6.12.4 Attach the Milk Cups again 6-19
6.12.5 Prolong milking 6-20
6.12.6 Interrupt Post Treatment 6-20
7. Preventive Maintenance 7-1
7.1 Preventive Maintenance Schedule 7-1
7.2 Clean the Bleed Holes 7-3
7.3 Clean the Outside of the Teat Cups 7-4
7.4 Clean the Robot Arm and the Box 7-5
7.5 Clean the sTDS Screen 7-6
7.6 Clean the X-link Touch Screen 7-7
7.7 Clean the Vacuum Pump 7-8
7.8 Examine the Air Compressor and the Air Dryer 7-11
7.9 Examine the alarms 7-12
7.10 Examine the Cleaning Brushes 7-13
7.11 Feed funnel 7-14
7.12 Examine the Twin Tubes 7-16
7.13 Examine the Attention List 7-18
7.14 Examine the Quantity of Astri®-CID 7-19
7.15 Examine the Quantity of Astri®-LIN 7-19
7.16 Examine the Quantity of Astri®-L 7-19
7.17 Examine the Quantity of Astri®-UC 7-19
7.18 Examine the Teat Cup Liners 7-21

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7.19 Examine the vacuum pump oil level 7-22
7.20 Measure the Temperature of the Hot Cleaning Water 7-23
7.21 Measure the Concentration of Astri®-L 7-24
7.22 Replace the Filter Element of the Single Filter 7-25
7.23 Replace the Filter Element of the Twin Filter 7-27
7.24 Replace the Teat Cup Liners 7-28
8. Corrective maintenance 8-1
8.1 Replace the Cleaning Brushes 8-1
8.2 Replace a Twin Tube 8-2
8.3 Shorten a Twin Tube 8-5
9. Test and Adjustment 9-1
9.1 Test the Save-Life Switch 9-1
9.2 Adjust the service positions 9-3
9.2.1 Adjust the Home Position 9-3
9.2.2 Adjust the Service-1 Position 9-3
9.2.3 Adjust the Service-2 Position 9-3
9.2.4 Adjust the Service-3 Position 9-4
9.3 Adjust the ACID:HYPO ratio 9-5
9.4 Adjust the Quantity of Pre-treatments 9-5
9.5 Adjust the Milk Separation Settings for Calving Cows 9-6
9.6 Adjust the Milk Separation Settings for Sick Cows 9-6
10. Troubleshooting 10-1
10.1 The Milk is Moving Up and Down/ Is Not Transported 10-1
10.2 Brushes Are Dirty After Cleaning 10-1
10.3 Troubleshooting Flowcharts 10-2
10.3.1 Alarms and Phone Calls 10-2
11. Diagrams 11-1
11.1 Milking Robot 11-1
11.1.1 LH Length Dimensions (Metric) 11-1
11.1.2 LH Width Dimensions (Metric) 11-2
11.1.3 LH Length Dimensions (Imp) 11-2
11.1.4 LH Width Dimensions (Imp) 11-3
11.1.5 RH Length Dimensions (Metric) 11-3

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11.1.6 RH Width Dimensions (Metric) 11-4
11.1.7 RH Length Dimensions (Imp) 11-4
11.1.8 RH Width Dimensions (Imp) 11-5
12. Spare Parts 12-1
12.1 Tools and Equipment 12-1
12.2 Consumable Materials 12-2
12.3 Spare Parts 12-3
13. Glossary of Terms 13-1
14. Index 14-1

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Introduction 1-1
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1. INTRODUCTION
The Astronaut milking robot is part of an automated milking system that milks, feeds, and monitors the health of
cows. The milking system also examines the quantity and quality of the milk received from the cows, and if
necessary, it separates milk that is contaminated or not to the correct standard.
A transmitter on each cow enables the system to identify the cow via a unique number, and a management
system maintains specific records for each cow. The milking system uses these records to manage the milking
and feeding of a cow when it enters the milking robot.
The milking system has four primary parts:
•The milking robot
•The tank room
•The office
•The compressor.
1.1 Milking Robot
The milking robot detects, weighs, milks and feeds the cows that go into the milking robot.
The milking robot is installed in or adjacent to the barn. The milking robot is installed so that the floor of the
milking robot is almost at the same height as the floor of the barn. This gives the cows safe and easy access to
and from the milking robot.
The milking robot is made in Right Hand (RH) and Left Hand (LH) versions (see the figures on pages 1-4 and
1-5).
The milking robot is connected to the tank room and the office via a cable train that contains the milk delivery
line and electrical and data cables. An external compressor supplies compressed air to operate the robot
pneumatic systems.
The milking robot has four primary parts:
•The box
•The machine room
•The robot arm assembly
•The X-link control panel.
1.1.1 Box
The box is the area of the milking robot where the cow stands during milking. It is a metal frame that contains
the entrance and exit gates, the weighbridge and the feed assembly.
The robot arm is installed on the right (RH model) or the left (LH model) of the box. The entrance and exit gates
are installed on the left (RH model) or the right (LH model) of the box.
The floor of the box is a weighbridge that detects the cow when it enters the milking robot. The weighbridge
also detects the position of the cow for the milking system, and weighs the cow when it is in the correct position
(standing completely on the floor).

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The feed assembly is installed at the front of the box and also contains the antenna that identifies the cow to
the milking system.
1.1.2 Machine Room
The machine room is installed at the rear of the box. The machine room contains most of the parts of the
milking, cleaning and control systems. The Milk 4 Use (M4Use) system is installed on the robot arm side of the
machine room. Access to the parts is via two doors, access panels and covers.
All the connections to the tank room and the computer room are also in the machine room.
1.1.3 Robot Arm Assembly
The robot arm assembly moves the teat cups to the correct position to attach them to the teats of the cow. The
robot arm assembly is installed on the right (RH model) or the left (LH model) of the box.
The robot arm assembly has three primary parts:
•The wagon assembly
•The arm assembly
•The mothership.
Wagon Assembly
The wagon assembly connects the arm assembly to the box and enables horizontal movement of the arm.
Rollers and a horizontal pneumatic cylinder connect the wagon assembly to the box. The arm control system is
also installed on the wagon assembly.
Arm Assembly
The arm assembly has three primary parts:
•The upper arm
•The turn-in arm
•The lower arm.
The arm assembly connects to the wagon assembly via a hinge and three pneumatic cylinders. The three
pneumatic cylinders enable horizontal and vertical movement of the arm assembly.
The Teat Attachment System (TAS), the 4Effect and the teat cleaning brushes are installed on the lower arm.
Mothership
The mother ship is connected to the end of the lower arm. The mothership contains the Teat Detection System
(TDS) and the teat cups. The TDS finds the position of the teats of the cow, and tells the TAS the correct
position for the teat cups.
1.1.4 X-link Control Panel
The X-link control panel is the user interface for the milking robot. It displays all the commands and information
necessary to operate and maintain the robot.
The X-link control panel is a touchscreen and is installed on a moveable arm at the front right (RH model) or
front left (LH model) of the box.

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The X-link is connected to the T4C Network and communicates with the management system and the CRS+.
1.2 Tank Room
The tank room contains the system that makes sure the milk is stored correctly.
The tank room has two primary parts:
•The storage tank
•The CRS+ cleaning and alarm system.
The tank room can also contain other optional parts. These include a twin filter, buffer tank and a pre-cooler.
The CRS+ is connected to the T4C Network and communicates with the T4C management system and the
X-link.
1.3 Office
The office contains the Personal Computer (PC) that monitors and manages the milking system.
The PC is connected to the milking robot and the CRS+ in the tank room via the T4C Network to make a fully
integrated network. It can also be connected to the internet via a modem.
The Time for Cows (T4C) farm management software installed on the PC maintains records for each cow and
sends milking, feeding and cleaning information to the milking robot (X-link) and the CRS+ in the tank room.
1.4 Compressor
The compressor supplies pressurized, clean and dry air to the milking system. It has a compressor unit, a drier
and a storage tank. The compressor is installed in a frost-free and clean-air environment.

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KEY:
1. Box - 2. Feed Assembly - 3. Entrance/Exit Gates - 4. Robot Arm - 5. Weighbridge - 6. X-link - 7.
Machine Room
Astronaut Milking Robot (LH Model)