Dashboard User input?

General
1

Hi All

i am looking at building a dashboard in grafana/node red that will show data for our machineshop (Job Que, Capacity of maines etc..)

i was wondering i need to display a live view of current job is it possible to have a node red dashboard that can rely on user input?

for example the user needs to enter the job they are on and the start time, and can start/stop the time then it injects the data into influx?

2

Yes, that is entirely possible. It is simplest to implement using the ui widgets provided by node-red-dashboard, which is the dashboard referred to here in the forum when people refer to 'the dashboard'. That provides user inputs for text, dropdown, numbers etc, and you can use the data entered to control your system. Also there are buttons and switches provided.

3

I've not done writing of data to InfluxDB from Grafana (other than using the InfluxDB admin addin). So not sure how easy that would be.

Dashboard is doable but you will need to think about how to handle multiple users. Dashboard isn't multi-user specifically though there are probably work-arounds you can use.

There are other options if you need to go further than Dashboard of course. But they require more up-front investment in developing a custom solution.

4

I didn't get that as being part of the requirement, so perhaps @mhswa can clarify, is the data written to influxdb coming through node-red? Writing to influxdb from node-red is very easy.

5

Thank you all for the replies!

@Colin thank's for that reply, so will i be able to present my machinist with a dashboard that they can enter say some text or select a job from que to state that they are currently working on it?

@TotallyInformation thanks for the reply, i would have a node-red instance per machine (we have 5 CNC's)

@Colin That is where i am stuck at the moment, i would like node red to import the data direclty into a influxdb database so my grafana instance can access it like the user input on the node red dashboards?

Like the below so we can visualize the current job the machinist is on and which are completed

Operational-dashboard-for-workers

6

You have 2 choices and both work just fine. There is an InfluxDB node for convenience but additionally, because InfluxDB supports direct POSTing of data, you can use the http-request node to send data if you prefer. I've used both.

The trick for InfluxDB of course is getting the right data format. Something which I change rarely enough that I always have to look up.

If you can break down for us which part you are stuck on, I'm sure someone will be able to help further. The output from Node-RED, the InfluxDB data format or the access of the InfluxDB data from Grafana?

7

Thanks again for the reply its a shame we are in different timezones!

i do not mind which way to send the data to influx i have setup the influx nodes and im sending it directly to the DB via 8086

i am now trying to figure out the the correct format that will work with my situation

i am stuck on the way to inject the data into influx from the user inputs on the dashboard and how to have the string correct so i can query it later

my setup i forsee is below

Text Input Node > (user inputs text [Job#])
Timer Starts > (Timer/stopwatch counts up until stopped, shows in progress)
Button > (Job Complete - Timer Stops)

The above values written to influx, so i basically can create the above example dashboard with this data

The Values i need are

  • Production Order Number (Text)

  • Time Started

  • In progress or not (in progress/complete)

  • Current accumulated time (if in progress)

  • Total Time (From start to finish)

any help is appreciated trying to learn at the same time

8

Have you already designed the database layout, in terms of measurements, field and tags? If not then you need to do that first.

9

that is the thing i need help with looking at the documentation is a little confusing

Tags seem to be primarily what i would need to use but field keys would need to be unique it seems?

I've setup a form on the dashboard for the user to input plain text into a form that when submitted will inject the text into influx, it seems to work but its only injecting the Label of the form element into the DB an not the text itself. the lack of fields and tags may be the issue

10

Don't use the V2 influx docs. V2 is very new and not well supported. Use V1.8. You will need to understand the concepts in order to use it.

If you have a flow that nearly works connect a debug showing what you are sending to the influx node and paste here what it shows.

11

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