A kinematic holding system for a placement head of a placement apparatus comprises a placement head alignment device which comprises at least one length-variable holding member arranged at a distance from a joint between a placement head support and the placement head. This holding member determines the pivoting position of the placement head relative to the placement head support. The length of the holding member is changeable during the placement operation depending on a deformation of the placement head guide device caused by the pressing force of the placement head against the substrate in such a way that an axis error (tilt) of the placement head caused by the deformation of the placement head guide device is compensated.