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Managing the Flow of Dairy Waste Water
Friday, 28 July 2006
CIP DEFLECTOR & VAT LOCK
Managing the flow of waste water on dairy farms can be a major headache,
particularly with the stringent resource management requirements.
In the initial stage of the daily CIP (Clean in Place) of milk vats on
dairy farms, the vats are rinsed with hot water. Deflecting the flow of
the waste water into a predetermined area is an important part of waste
management for farmers. Dairy Technology Services (DTS) worked closely
with Millennium Plastics to design a cost-effective and robust deflector
that would achieve this goal.
Once the basic design was developed, rapid prototypes were produced to
allow the concept to be tested and refined prior to final production. A
special design feature was added to prevent the deflector from rotating
under flow pressure, effectively locking it in place.
It was decided to injection mould the deflector in Nylon, giving it more
‘give’ for consistent fit and durability. Nylon was also selected for its
ability to handle the high temperature of the rinse water, plus it is a
food-grade polymer.
One of the challenges that arose from the upgrade of the milk vat
couplings, was that some farms could have 2.5” outlets and others 3”
fittings. Therefore, the deflector covers had to be designed to fit both
sizes of outlet valve.
Using the same basic design as the deflector, a vat lock cover was also
designed, to prevent accidental loading of unsuitable milk during
calving etc. The vat lock version is moulded in red Nylon with a hole in
the centre and a bold warning printed onto the face panel. A locking
chain and padlock were added for extra security.
RFID DISK HOLDER
A new technical advancement in the dairy industry is the introduction of
RFID into the milk collection process. Uniquely coded RFID disks are
automatically read by the collection tankers, allowing accurate capturing
of relevant farm and product data before pumping the milk.
The RFID disks are attached to the milk vat with a light chain, but
keeping them out of the way when not in use was an important
consideration. In conjunction with DTS, Millennium developed a plastic
RFID disk holder that would house the disk when not in use. The disk
holder needed to be cost-effective, durable, practical to use and not
require any fabrication – an ideal application for plastic injection
moulding.
Being used outdoors, it was decided to injection mould the holder in UV
resistant ABS. This material has high impact strength, an important
consideration for dairy farming applications.
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