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6. Using DryDock
This page explains how to use every part of the DryDock dashboard, including the main sensor view, the filament management workflow, and the scale calibration process.
When you navigate to the dashboard for the first time, you are redirected to the Setup page to create an account. On subsequent visits, you are redirected to the Login page. Enter the username and password you created during setup.
Certain pages and actions (settings, calibration, firmware generation, and backup management) require you to be logged in. The RFID and weight scanning views on the dashboard are visible without a login, so the system can be used for basic monitoring without authentication.
The main dashboard (/) provides a live overview of the current sensor state.
At the top of the dashboard, three status badges show the health of the system's key components:
- ESP32: Indicates whether the microcontroller is online. The backend considers the ESP32 online if a telemetry update has been received within the last 3 minutes. If the indicator shows Offline, no live data will be displayed.
- Spoolman: Indicates whether the DryDock backend can reach your Spoolman instance. If Spoolman is unreachable, the filament management features will be disabled.
- Database: Confirms that the SQLite database is accessible and healthy.
The dashboard also shows Uptime, the duration for which the Flask backend has been continuously running.
The environmental panel shows the latest readings from both AM2320 sensors:
- Inside Temperature and Humidity: From AM2320 #1, placed inside the dry box.
- Ambient Temperature and Humidity: From AM2320 #2, measuring the room conditions outside the dry box.
- Humidity Delta: The difference between inside and ambient humidity (ambient minus inside). This is the key indicator of desiccant health.
If the humidity delta is above the configured threshold (default 10%), the desiccant (silica gel) is considered healthy.
If the humidity delta falls below the threshold, the dashboard displays a warning and the desiccant should be replaced or regenerated by drying the silica gel in an oven.
The weight panel shows the current reading from the load cell:
- Current Weight: The live compensated weight in grams. Weights below 8 grams are treated as zero (empty scale).
- Weight Stability: A progress bar showing how close the current reading is to a stable, settled value. The scale is considered stable when the reading has not changed by more than 3 grams for 4 seconds. Wait for stability before performing a sync to Spoolman.
The RFID panel shows the UID of the most recently scanned NFC tag. This UID persists in the display until a different tag is scanned. If you have already linked this UID to a Spoolman spool, the matching spool information will be shown.
Below the live readings, the dashboard provides charts showing historical sensor data. You can select the time range:
- 1h: Last 1 hour (raw data, 1-minute buckets)
- 24h: Last 24 hours (5-minute buckets)
- 7d: Last 7 days (1-hour buckets)
You can also switch the aggregation mode between Average, Minimum, and Maximum for each bucket.
Charts display humidity (both inside and ambient), temperature (both sensors), and weight over time. Points where the humidity delta fell below the alert threshold are highlighted as anomalies.
Navigate to Filaments from the main menu to access the filament management page. This page requires Spoolman to be reachable.
The spool list shows all active (non-archived) spools currently in Spoolman. For each spool, you can see the filament type, color, remaining weight, and linked RFID UID.
Available actions for each spool:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Re-weigh | Updates the spool's remaining weight in Spoolman using the current scale reading. Subtracts the empty spool weight automatically. |
| Mark as Used | Sets the remaining weight to 0 in Spoolman, indicating the spool has been fully consumed. |
| Archive | Marks the spool as archived in Spoolman so it no longer appears in active lists. |
| Unlink RFID | Removes the RFID UID association from the spool record in Spoolman. |
| Remove | Permanently deletes the spool record from Spoolman. |
If a spool is already in Spoolman and you just want to update its remaining weight, use the Sync button on the spool list row instead of the full wizard. This is faster for routine weight checks.
Calibration tells the software how to convert the raw ADC numbers from the NAU7802 into meaningful gram values. Accurate calibration requires two steps: tare and multiplier calibration. Access the calibration panel from the main dashboard.
The raw ADC output from the NAU7802 is a large 24-bit integer. The relationship between this number and actual weight in grams is linear but specific to your particular load cell hardware. Calibration establishes:
- The tare offset: the raw ADC value when the scale is empty (used to subtract the platform weight).
- The calibration multiplier: the factor that converts
(raw_adc - tare_offset)into grams.
Remove everything from the load cell. Click Tare in the calibration panel. DryDock reads the latest raw ADC value and stores it as the tare offset. All subsequent weight calculations subtract this offset before applying the multiplier.
You should re-tare whenever you physically adjust the load cell mounting or the weight platform.
Place a known reference weight on the load cell. Use a calibrated scale or a known mass (a precise kitchen scale weight, or any object whose weight you have accurately measured beforehand). Enter the known weight in grams and click Apply Multiplier.
Note: It is very important that your known weight is accurate. If it's not, all your spools will be weighed wrong.
DryDock computes the multiplier as:
multiplier = known_weight_grams / (raw_adc - tare_offset)
For best results, use a reference weight that is close to the typical weight of a filament spool (200 to 1000 grams).
A calibration reminder will appear in the dashboard when the configured number of days has passed since the last calibration.
You can export sensor logs from the Settings page or directly via the API:
- CSV format: Suitable for spreadsheet analysis. Contains timestamps, temperature, humidity, raw ADC, RFID UID, and computed weight for each reading.
- JSON format: Suitable for programmatic processing.
-
Structured event log: A JSONL file containing all application events (spool syncs, calibrations, errors). Download from the Settings page or via
/api/logs/structured/download.
By default, 7 days of sensor logs are available. Adjust Log Retention Days in Settings to keep more.