Lens Vibratory Feeder DPS-2 | SMT Pick and Place | JHIMS

How the DPS-2 Works

The feeding path is a straight chain from bulk parts to placed components:

Input hopper → vibratory bowl feeding → spiral track metering → orientation gate → sensor verification → pickup point → P&P machine vacuum nozzle.

• Vibratory bowl: bulk lenses are gently circulated and lifted onto the track by the circular drive (50–120 Hz).
• Orientation gate: custom tooling aligns each lens to a single correct attitude as it passes.
• Sensor verification: fiber sensors confirm presence and orientation at the pickup point before hand-off.
• Pickup handoff: the mounter picks on its normal cycle — no line stoppage, no manual touch.

Why This Architecture

The DPS-2 runs dual-frequency vibration: two independent electromagnetic drives with separate PID controllers. The circular channel meters bulk movement; the direct channel performs precision final alignment at 100–200 Hz. Because the drives are mechanically decoupled, bowl load changes never disturb track alignment — amplitude stays within <5% from full to empty bowl.

The physics behind this — resonance vs. load, and why single-frequency systems drift 15–30% — is explained in detail in our dual vs. single frequency technical comparison. Multi-channel configurations scale throughput linearly: each additional channel adds its own independent feeding path.

The practical consequence is that the two jobs the feeder has to do can be optimized separately. Bulk movement wants amplitude that keeps lenses circulating without throwing them; final alignment wants a stable, gentle motion that presents the part squarely at a fixed position.

A single drive has to compromise between them, which is why feeders of that type are usually tuned to be safe on alignment and slower than necessary on movement. Separating the drives lets the circular channel run at the rate the bowl needs and the direct channel be tuned purely for presentation — and because each has its own PID loop, neither needs re-tuning when the other changes or when bowl load varies during a shift.

P&P Machine Compatibility

“Compatible” means the mechanical/electrical interface is supported and shipped as a brand-specific kit. For your exact machine model, confirm during sample testing or with JHIMS engineering — installation typically completes in 4–8 hours with remote video guidance.

Who Is DPS-2 For? Who Is It Not For?

A free 48-hour sample test settles the question with your own lenses before any commitment.

Pricing & ROI

The DPS-2 base configuration starts at approximately $6,000 USD (indicative, configuration dependent). Typical configured units: $8,000–$12,000 depending on channel count, interface kit, and options (anti-static/ESD, cleanroom, Siemens PLC, vision integration). DDP shipping available; contact [email protected] for an itemized quotation.

Typical payback runs 6–11 months, driven by labor savings (~85% lower annual labor cost) and material savings (rejection from 5–15% down to <0.5%). Estimate your own payback with the calculator on the manual vs. automatic decision guide.

Two points are worth adding to the published figures. First, treat the base price as a starting point rather than a quotation, because channel count and interface kit move the number more than any option: a two-channel machine and a six-channel machine are different projects even though both are DPS-2.

Second, calculate payback on the cost the feeder removes rather than on its own price — labor released per shift, lenses no longer scrapped through manual handling, and output recovered from the stops manual feeding caused. Configurations are quoted per project after a sample test, so the quotation reflects the machine you actually need.

Installing a DPS-2 on an Existing Line

Very few lens feeders are installed on a new line. In most projects the feeder arrives at a factory that is already producing, which means the installation has to fit around running production rather than the other way round. Four steps make that practical.

First, the mounting position is set from the placement head so the nozzle travel to the lens is the shortest useful move and the pick is square; this is measured rather than estimated, because a small error in presentation height appears later as intermittent pick failures. Second, the trigger interface is agreed — feeder-initiated, machine-initiated or line-PLC-initiated — so feeding and picking are sequenced and never compete.

Fourth, the line is run with production lenses while the feeder is monitored, so the accepted behavior is the behavior measured on real product.

Because the DPS-2 has its own control cabinet and runs on single-phase 220 V, the installation normally needs no electrical work beyond a supply point and no modification to the placement machine. That matters more than it sounds: an installation that leaves the host machine untouched does not invalidate the customer’s existing service agreement, does not require machine requalification, and can be reversed if the line is reconfigured.

For a production manager, the ability to add feeding automation without disturbing a qualified process is often the deciding factor — not the feeder’s rated speed.

Installation sequence as normally run, with what is verified at each step.