In many automation projects, pick and place systems are built from several independent components.
The real challenge is usually the pick and place integration of feeder, camera, robot and PLC.
In practice, this integration is often the most complex part of the entire project.
In many automation projects, the real difficulty is not the individual components but the pick and place integration of all systems
This experience ultimately led to the development of DS Place.
At first, the task sounded simple.
An automotive supplier was assembling a component for a vehicle.
First, a rubber spring had to be inserted into a cylindrical housing.
After that, another component was placed on top.
To automate this process, the pick and place station consisted of several independent systems:
• A vibratory feeder to separate the parts
• A camera system to detect the position and orientation
• A robot to pick and insert the components
• A PLC as the central control system
Each of these systems worked on its own.
However, the system could only produce reliably once all components worked together perfectly.
And that was exactly where the real challenge began.
In theory, everything sounded logical.
In practice, the real work only began at this point.
The vibratory feeder first had to be connected to the PLC.
This required setting up communication, understanding the protocol and implementing every command correctly. Only once this interface worked reliably could the parts be supplied consistently.
At the same time, another engineer was working on the vision system.
The camera had to detect where the parts were located, determine their orientation and transfer the correct position data to the PLC. Every adjustment required new coordination.
The robot, again, was a separate system.
It had to be fully taught — every position, every handover and every safety zone. Communication with the rest of the system also ran exclusively through the PLC.
This meant that every change in one system affected at least one other.
If a part was not picked correctly, troubleshooting began:
Was it the camera?
Was it the robot?
Was it the interface between the systems?
Four technical systems.
Three responsible engineers.
And no one had full control over the entire architecture.
Commissioning took months.
Not because the technology was poor — but because pick and place integration of each individual system repeatedly required new adjustments and coordination.
At some point, the system was running.
At least most of the time.
However, sporadic issues kept appearing.
A component was not detected correctly.
A pick operation failed.
A handover between systems was not precise enough.
And every time the same discussion started again:
Was it the camera?
The robot?
Or the communication between them?
Technically, every problem could be solved.
But the effort, coordination and responsibility always ended up in the same place.
I was responsible for the PLC — and therefore for the connection between all systems.
Whenever something did not work, everything eventually came back to the same interface.
It was not a bad project.
It was a structural problem.
At some point a simple question appeared:
Why does every pick and place application start from zero again?
Why are feeding, vision and robotics always treated as separate systems — only to be integrated later on site?
How much time, cost and complexity could be avoided if this integration already existed?
That was the moment the idea for DS Place was born.
DS Place was not developed as a single component.
From the beginning, it was designed as a fully integrated system.
Part feeding, vision system, robot control and motion sequences are already coordinated and tested with each other.
The necessary communication interfaces between PLC, camera, robot and conveyor technology are already available — but they are preconfigured and defined inside the machine.
They do not need to be created, programmed or synchronized at the customer’s site.
The current system architecture works with a closed conveyor loop:
A hopper conveyor transports the parts onto a pick belt.
There, the integrated vision system detects the components and the robot picks them.
Parts that are not correctly oriented are automatically transported further.
Via return conveyors, they are guided back into the circulation and become available again for picking.
The complete logic — from part detection to pick position and handover — is already implemented inside the machine.
The difference is not the individual components.
The difference is that the pick and place integration is already completed before the machine is delivered.
Optional (wenn du noch ein zweites Vorkommen möchtest, leicht stärker für SEO):
Part feeding, vision system, robot control and motion sequences are already coordinated and tested with each other as part of the pick and place integration.
When a customer wants to introduce a new component, the process no longer starts on site — it starts at our facility.
The customer provides the component as a STEP file.
Based on this model, the gripper jaws are designed and manufactured.
At the same time, the vision system is adapted to the new part.
Contour detection, pick position and handover parameters are defined and tested within the system.
The entire pick and place behavior is verified under realistic conditions — including part feeding, detection and robot picking.
Only once the interaction between conveyor system, vision system and robot is stable is the machine delivered.
On site at the customer’s facility, commissioning is reduced to just a few steps:
The DS Place is positioned at the production line
Mechanically fixed
Connected electrically
The drop-off position is taught
After that, production can start.
At this point, the integration is already complete — not just beginning.
Abschnittstext (unter der Überschrift „Advancing Part Feeding Technology“)
The current DS Place uses a closed-loop conveyor system.
This concept enables robust and controlled part handling while making optimal use of the robot’s possible cycle time.
The achievable throughput is therefore determined by the robot — not by the feeding system.
At the same time, we are evaluating a second architecture based on vibratory feeder technology.
This is not intended as a replacement, but as an alternative feeding solution for applications where classic vibratory part separation is preferred.
Regardless of the selected feeding technology, the core concept remains the same:
The integration is completed before delivery.
All interfaces are defined, tested and documented.
Because the real difference does not lie in the feeding principle —
but in the fully integrated system architecture.
DS Place was not created from a marketing concept.
It was born out of a real commissioning project.
From the experience that working individual components do not automatically create a working overall system.
Part feeding, vision systems, robotics and control technology are all manageable from a technical perspective.
The real challenge lies in pick and place integration.
That is exactly where DS Place comes in.
Not as a single machine.
But as a prepared and tested system.
So that commissioning does not take months —
but becomes predictable.
Talk to us about your application.
We will review how your components can be implemented using an integrated system solution.
