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Tyler edited this page Apr 13, 2026 · 7 revisions

DryDock Wiki

Welcome to the official DryDock documentation. This wiki covers everything you need to know to build, install, configure, and use the DryDock filament storage and inventory system.

What is DryDock?

DryDock is an open-source smart filament management system for 3D printing. It combines a physical hardware unit with a web-based dashboard to give you real-time insight into the condition of your filament and dry storage environment.

The system uses an ESP32 microcontroller to continuously read data from three types of sensors:

  • A NAU7802 24-bit ADC connected to a load cell, which weighs filament spools with precision.
  • Two AM2320 temperature and humidity sensors - one placed inside the dry box and one measuring ambient room conditions. The difference between these two readings tells you whether your desiccant (silica gel) is still effective.
  • An MFRC522 RFID reader that scans NFC tags attached to your spools, allowing the system to identify exactly which spool is being weighed.

The ESP32 reports all of this data over Wi-Fi to a Python/Flask backend running on a Raspberry Pi (or any Linux host on the same network). The backend stores the data, provides the dashboard, and integrates with Spoolman to keep your filament inventory automatically up to date.

Key Features

  • Differential Humidity Monitoring: Compares inside and outside humidity to determine desiccant health. Alerts you when the humidity delta drops below your configured threshold.
  • Automatic Spool Weighing: Uses a high-resolution 24-bit ADC and a 5 kg load cell to measure remaining filament weight.
  • RFID Spool Identification: Tap an NFC-tagged spool to the reader and the system knows exactly which spool it is weighing.
  • Spoolman Integration: Automatically updates remaining filament weight in your Spoolman database after each scan and weigh cycle.
  • Historical Charts: The dashboard stores and displays sensor history for the last hour, 24 hours, or 7 days.
  • Scale Calibration: A built-in calibration wizard guides you through taring the scale and computing a calibration multiplier using a known reference weight.
  • Automated Backups: The SQLite database is backed up on a configurable schedule.
  • Log Retention: Sensor logs are automatically pruned after a configurable number of days to prevent the database from growing indefinitely.
  • Firmware Generator: The web UI generates a ready-to-flash .ino firmware file with your Wi-Fi credentials and server address injected automatically.

Wiki Pages

Page Description
Hardware Setup Bill of materials, wiring diagrams, and pin assignments
Software Installation Installing the backend on a Raspberry Pi
Firmware Setup Generating and flashing the ESP32 firmware
Configuration Environment variables, settings page, and Spoolman integration
Using DryDock Dashboard walkthrough, spool scanning workflow, and calibration
API Reference Complete REST API documentation
Troubleshooting Solutions to common problems

Quick Start Summary

  1. Assemble the hardware following the Hardware Setup guide.
  2. Clone the repository onto your Raspberry Pi and run install.sh as described in Software Installation.
  3. Open the dashboard in a browser and use the built-in firmware generator to create your DryDock.ino file.
  4. Flash the firmware to your ESP32 as described in Firmware Setup.
  5. Calibrate the scale using the Calibration section of the dashboard.
  6. Start scanning spools.

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