Measuring Force of Massage Produced by the Teatcup Liner

Abstract

Physiological implications of liner movement were considered. An artificial teat was used to measure teatcup liner force considered to be massage only when it exceeded atmospheric pressure. Liner force was maximum at the midpoint of the width of the collapsed liner walls and maximum in the middle third of total liner length. Liner force was at least 90% of maximum for 64% of the time the liner was collapsed but reached its maximum only for 8% of the time the liner was collapsed.Pulsated pressure, liner opening and closing, and liner pressure were recorded simultaneously. From this recording, a table was presented with numbers for liner opening pressure, closing pressure, maximum massage, massage time, liner closed time, liner open time, and the product massage×massage time.Some teat end lesions may be explained by observations that the liner collapses in a fixed plane, and liner pressure can vary with lateral teat position and depth of teat penetration. Regardless of the desirability of liner massage, forces on the teat end should be distributed as evenly as possible by routine rotation of the liner within the shell.