A camera placement checklist is the artifact that decides whether an AI vision project reaches production accuracy or gets bypassed by operators within weeks. Most false rejects trace back to a physical decision made in the first two days of installation. This checklist covers 66 verifiable action items across eight phases — walked before power-on, signed before training data capture. Print it, file it against the camera asset ID — book a walkthrough for an engineer to review the completed form.
Camera Placement & Mounting Checklist for AI Vision
A step-by-step verification checklist for industrial camera installation. Every physical variable that decides whether an AI inspection point holds accuracy — walked before power-on, signed before training data capture.
How to Use This Checklist
Print or Assign
Print for the technician or assign as a CMMS task against the camera asset ID.
Walk Each Phase in Order
Phases build on each other — pre-planning feeds mount, mount feeds optics. Skipping ahead costs rework.
Document Every Check
Every item generates a photo, measurement, or signed line. Attach to the deployment record.
Sign, File, Handover
Installer and maintenance lead both sign at completion. Only then does training data capture begin.
Pre-Installation Planning
10 itemsFocal length, FOV, working distance, and pixels-per-millimeter documented and signed off before lens ordering.
Smallest defect target confirmed to span at least 3–5 pixels in the captured image at production working distance.
Lens focal length, aperture range, and mount thread (C, CS, F) verified against sensor format and required DOF.
Mechanical drawing shows exact X-Y-Z coordinates of camera relative to a permanent line reference point.
Choice between rigid, adjustable, isolated, robot-mounted, washdown, or fiber-coupled documented with rationale.
Enclosure rating (IP54, IP65, IP67, or IP69K) matched to five-year worst-case dust, moisture, and washdown exposure.
Camera and enclosure operating range covers observed min and max ambient over full production cycle.
Motors, welders, and drives over 15 kW mapped. Shielded cabling and ferrite chokes specified.
Technician can wipe the lens and inspect the enclosure in under 10 seconds during a normal line stoppage.
Cable path, service loop, strain relief points, trigger sensor location, and reject actuator location all marked.
Mount Installation and Positioning
10 itemsMount is not bolted to any vibrating machine frame — press, conveyor drive, stamping station, or motor housing.
Digital level confirms mount plane is within 0.5 degrees of drawing specification on both axes.
All three axes measured and recorded. Deviation over 2 mm requires drawing revision or mount rework before proceeding.
Permanent marks let any future service event restore the exact position. Photograph reference marks from four angles.
Every bolt torqued to spec with values logged. Torque-seal paint applied so loosening is visible at inspection.
Rubber isolators, viscoelastic pads, or tuned mass dampers fitted per environment. Documented on installation record.
Every adjustment axis locked and marked with paint so any post-installation movement is immediately visible.
Mount, camera, and lighting confirmed clear of moving parts, product envelope, robot reach, and emergency-stop paths.
Line run at full speed for 5 minutes — mount, camera, and lighting confirmed stable with no visible motion.
Reference photos filed against camera asset ID for future audits, root-cause investigations, and maintenance handovers.
Camera and Optics Setup
10 itemsUp-direction of the sensor confirmed. Rotation locked and marked so no post-service reversal is possible.
Camera angle to part surface measured — perpendicular for flat, 15–30 degrees off-axis for texture or surface defects.
Distance from lens front to part surface matches optical calculation. Recorded on the installation form.
Focus adjusted with the real part at production working distance, not a lab target or paper reference.
Aperture chosen to hold sharpness across the full DOF range demanded by part height variation or motion.
Focus ring locking screw torqued, then paint applied across the joint. Any future movement will crack the paint line.
Same treatment as focus ring — no accidental adjustment during cleaning or shift changes can go undetected.
Precision target placed at part plane. Pixel-per-millimeter measured, verified against calculation, and archived.
Part fits inside frame with margin on all edges. No critical feature within 10% of any edge.
Lens tissue, blower, and IPA wipes stored within arm's reach of the camera. Cleaning SOP posted at station.
Environmental Protection
8 itemsRating label matches the highest-pressure washdown, dust storm, or splash event scheduled in the SOP calendar.
Cable glands torque-verified. Under-torqued glands are the top cause of ingress failure in high-pressure environments.
M12, RJ45, or bayonet connector O-rings inspected for damage. Silicone dielectric grease applied per manufacturer guide.
Sapphire or optical-grade window inspected under angled light. Any scratch in the optical path requires replacement.
Temperature at camera housing recorded for a full production cycle. Max reading confirmed within camera spec.
Applicable to washdown installations — enclosure top surface at 15 degrees minimum to shed pooling water.
If specified, purge supply is connected, filtered, and running at the specified flow rate with pressure switch.
Lighting logged through all shifts, sunrise, sunset, and any window exposure. Shroud added if contrast varies significantly.
Cabling and Connectivity
8 itemsRobot-mounted, moving-arm, or reciprocating installations use only cables with continuous-flex certification.
Loop diameter at least 10x cable diameter. Loop flexes cleanly through the full motion envelope of any moving structure.
Shield grounded at one end to prevent ground loops. Verified with a multimeter before any signal test.
Cable never carries its own weight at either connector. Strain-relief clamps hold within 100 mm of each termination.
Rising edge, pulse width, and jitter measured at the camera trigger input. Recorded on installation form.
Round-trip ping from camera to edge processor under 5 ms with line running. Higher values need switch review.
Chokes fitted on data and power lines within 5 meters of any motor, welder, or drive above 15 kW.
Photograph and diagram of full cable run filed with deployment record. Every future service can retrace the routing.
Vibration Verification
6 itemsTriaxial accelerometer mounted directly on the camera body — not on the frame or mount base — for accuracy.
Line operated at maximum production speed with all nearby machinery running. Data logged continuously.
Peak G force at the camera housing stays under 1G through the full run. Above 1G requires isolation upgrade.
FFT of the acceleration data checked for peaks matching drive, gearbox, or press strike frequencies.
If initial reading fails, tuned dampers added or mount relocated. Full 15-minute test repeated until under 1G.
Raw acceleration data and FFT plot stored against camera asset ID for future comparison against drift baselines.
Final Sign-Off Before Training Data Capture
8 itemsKnown-good and known-defect samples captured. Defects clearly visible with adequate contrast in the raw image.
Pixel measurement on the smallest defect confirms it meets the detection floor. Below this, no model can classify reliably.
Technician performs a full lens-cleaning cycle. Total time under the shortest planned line stoppage.
Verified that E-stop actuation, safety-gate access, and lockout points are all reachable without moving vision equipment.
Installer name, date, and signed acknowledgment of every completed phase on the placement verification form.
Site maintenance representative signs off on access, serviceability, and long-term ownership of the installation.
Signed form uploaded and linked to the camera asset ID. Filed with all photos, measurements, and vibration data.
Formal handover from installation to vision team. Model development starts only after this line is checked.
Ongoing Maintenance Cadence
6 itemsEvery shift start, lens visually checked for dust, oil film, condensation, or scratches. Clean per SOP if needed.
Witness marks and paint lines inspected. Any cracked paint indicates movement — a full field verification is triggered.
Torque seals on all mount fasteners visually inspected. Any broken seal is retorqued and photographed.
Complete phases 3 through 6 of this checklist every three months. Log all measurements against previous baselines.
Bearing replacement, drive change, or conveyor tension adjustment triggers immediate vibration re-verification.
All inspections logged in CMMS. Trend analysis flags any drift before it reaches false-reject or missed-defect thresholds.
Working Distance and Field of View Reference
Use these values as first-draft optical targets during Phase 01. Always confirm on the line with the actual part before finalizing lens and mount specification.
| Application | Working Distance | Typical FOV | Sensor | Focal Length | Smallest Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCB solder joint inspection | 50–150 mm | 30 × 25 mm | 1/1.8 inch | 25–35 mm | 50 μm |
| Beverage cap and label check | 300–600 mm | 150 × 100 mm | 1/2.3 inch | 12–16 mm | 0.5 mm |
| Automotive stamped panel | 400–1000 mm | 500 × 400 mm | 2/3 inch | 12–25 mm | 1 mm |
| Pharma blister-pack fill | 200–400 mm | 120 × 90 mm | 1/2 inch | 16–25 mm | 0.3 mm |
| Fabric weave defect scan | 300–500 mm | 200 × 150 mm | 1/1.8 inch | 16–25 mm | 0.4 mm |
| Bulk food sorting | 500–800 mm | 300 × 250 mm | 1/2 inch | 12 mm | 2 mm |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this checklist be used for both new installations and retrofits?
Yes — the checklist works for greenfield and retrofit alike. On retrofits, phases 01 and 02 often reveal that an existing mount or drawing needs revision before proceeding. Skip nothing. If a retrofit skips phase 01 planning because the mount is already fabricated, hidden mismatches between optics and mechanical position will surface as unexplained false rejects. iFactory retrofit deployments always run the full checklist even when hardware is inherited. Reference tables and additional worksheets are available at the support portal.
How long does a full checklist walk-through take on a single camera?
A trained technician working with pre-calculated optics completes phases 02 through 07 in one full shift, typically six to eight hours per camera. Phase 01 pre-planning takes longer — two to four days of engineering including drawings, lens selection, and mount design. Ongoing phase 08 maintenance items take minutes per check but only work when logged in the CMMS and audited quarterly. iFactory ships a pre-filled deployment checklist with every installation kit so first-shift technicians hit the ground running.
What happens if a checklist item fails during verification?
Failed items block sign-off. If phase 06 reads over 1G, isolation must be added and the test repeated until under 1G. If FOV margin falls below 10 percent, the mount is reworked. No item can be waived — the whole point is that the model never inherits a physical error. If cost or timeline pressures push toward waiving a check, escalate to engineering rather than sign off partial completion. Book a review for external validation on a failed item.
Do all 66 items apply to every camera installation?
Most items apply universally but a handful are conditional — enclosure slope for washdown lines, purge air for hazardous atmospheres, continuous-flex cables for moving mounts. If an item does not apply, mark it N/A with a written reason rather than leaving it unchecked. This forces the installer to consciously acknowledge each variable rather than skip anything by default. Conditional-item guidance is on the iFactory support site with sample completed forms from real deployments.
How does this checklist integrate with a CMMS and PM schedule?
Every phase 08 item is designed as a recurring CMMS task against the camera asset ID — daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly cadence. Trend data from these checks becomes the early warning system that catches placement drift before accuracy falls. iFactory integrations push checklist completion status and measurement values directly into common CMMS platforms so the data lives with the asset record, not in a separate spreadsheet. Setup templates are available from the vision team.
Get Your Camera Placement Checklist Reviewed
Share your completed checklist, site photos, and vibration data — iFactory engineers validate every phase and return a signed sign-off pack before model training begins. Deployments across automotive, food, pharma, electronics, and heavy manufacturing.
