node-red-contrib-solution-engine

Node-RED nodes for interacting with Solution Engine and MTConnect devices.

Source

Full source is available in GitHub

Installation

Install the package by first navigating to the local node-RED folder.

On Windows this will likely be

cd C:\Users\<my-user-name>\.node-red
npm install node-red-contrib-your-node

or on Linux

cd ~/.node-red
npm install node-red-contrib-solution-engine

Or for development:

cd /path/to/node-red-contrib-solution-engine
npm link

cd ~/.node-red
npm link node-red-contrib-solution-engine

Restart Node-RED after installation.

Nodes

MTConnect Data Item (Read)

Reads a specific data item value from an MTConnect endpoint. Supports both Solution Engine and generic MTConnect brokers.

Configuration:

• Host: IP address or hostname (e.g., 192.168.5.90, mtconnect.mazakcorp.com)
• Port: MTConnect port (default: 5000)
• Path: Optional path for generic brokers (leave empty for most cases)
• Data Item ID: The dataItemId to query (e.g., EngineInfo.EngineID)

Input:

• msg.payload: Any value (triggers the read)
• msg.host: (optional) Override configured host
• msg.port: (optional) Override configured port
• msg.path: (optional) Override configured path
• msg.dataItemId: (optional) Override configured data item ID

Output:

• msg.payload: The data item value
• msg.dataItemId: The data item ID that was queried
• msg.timestamp: MTConnect timestamp
• msg.sequence: MTConnect sequence number
• msg.name: Friendly name of the data item

Broker Detection:

The node automatically detects whether the target is a Solution Engine or generic MTConnect broker:

• Solution Engine: Uses /api/v6/mtc/current
• Generic broker: Uses /{path}/current or /current

The broker type is cached after first detection for performance.

Examples:

Solution Engine:

Host: 192.168.5.90
Port: 7200
Path: (empty)
Data Item ID: EngineInfo.EngineID
→ URL: http://192.168.5.90:7200/api/v6/mtc/current
→ Returns: "DCA6326DA159"

Mazak Demo Broker:

Host: mtconnect.mazakcorp.com
Port: 5610
Path: (empty)
Data Item ID: xpm
→ URL: http://mtconnect.mazakcorp.com:5610/current
→ Returns: "UNAVAILABLE"

Important: Data item IDs are case-sensitive. Use exact case from the MTConnect XML (e.g., EngineInfo.EngineID not EngineInfo.EngineId).

Engine Set Data Item (Write)

Sets a data item value on a Solution Engine device.

Configuration:

• Host: IP address or hostname (e.g., 192.168.5.90)
• Port: Solution Engine port (default: 7200)
• Data Item ID: The dataItemId to set (e.g., EngineInfo.Location.PostalCode)

Input:

• msg.payload: The value to set (string or number)
• msg.value: (alternative to payload) The value to set
• msg.host: (optional) Override configured host
• msg.port: (optional) Override configured port
• msg.dataItemId: (optional) Override configured data item ID

Output:

• msg.payload.success: true if successful, false if error
• msg.payload.dataItemId: The data item ID that was set
• msg.payload.value: The value that was sent
• msg.payload.statusCode: HTTP status code
• msg.response: Server response (if any)

Endpoint:

PUT http://{host}:{port}/api/v6/agent/data

Request Body (XML):

<DataItems>
    <DataItem dataItemId="EngineInfo.Location.PostalCode">
        <Value>12345</Value>
    </DataItem>
</DataItems>

Example:

Set a postal code:

msg.payload = "12345";
// Data Item ID configured as: EngineInfo.Location.PostalCode
// → Sends PUT request with XML body
// → Returns: { success: true, dataItemId: "...", value: "12345", statusCode: 200 }

Note: This node only works with Solution Engine devices, not generic MTConnect brokers.

Status Indicators

Both nodes show visual status indicators:

• Blue dot: Request in progress
• Green dot: Success
• Yellow ring: Data item not found (read node only)
• Red ring: Error occurred

Flow Examples

Basic Read Flow

[Inject] → [MTConnect Data Item] → [Debug]

Inject: Every 5 seconds
MTConnect Data Item:
  Host: 192.168.5.90
  Port: 7200
  Data Item ID: EngineInfo.CPUTemp
Debug: msg.payload

Read and Write Flow

[Inject] → [Change] → [Engine Set Data Item] → [Delay] → [MTConnect Data Item] → [Debug]

Inject: Manual trigger
Change: Set msg.payload = "New Value"
Engine Set Data Item:
  Host: 192.168.5.90
  Port: 7200
  Data Item ID: MyComponent.MyValue
Delay: 1 second
MTConnect Data Item:
  Host: 192.168.5.90
  Port: 7200
  Data Item ID: MyComponent.MyValue
Debug: msg.payload

Multiple Hosts

[Inject] → [MTConnect Data Item (Engine 1)] → [Debug]
           [MTConnect Data Item (Engine 2)] → [Debug]
           [MTConnect Data Item (Mazak)] → [Debug]

Each node can target a different host. Broker type is cached per host:port combination.

Troubleshooting

"Data item not found"

1. Check case sensitivity: Data item IDs are case-sensitive. Verify the exact case in the MTConnect XML response.
2. Verify the data item exists: Open http://{host}:{port}/api/v6/mtc/current in a browser and search for the dataItemId attribute.
3. Check broker detection: Look at Node-RED logs to see which URL is being used.

Wrong URL being used

The broker type is cached in memory. Restart Node-RED to clear the cache if you changed the configuration.

Connection errors

1. Verify the host and port are correct
2. Check network connectivity: curl http://{host}:{port}/current
3. Check firewall settings

Logging

Both nodes log useful debug information. View logs in the Node-RED console:

Detecting broker type for 192.168.5.90:7200...
Broker detection complete: isSolutionEngine=true
Fetching from: http://192.168.5.90:7200/api/v6/mtc/current
PUT to http://192.168.5.90:7200/api/v6/agent/data with body: <DataItems>...

License

MIT

Author

Chris Tacke - LECS Energy

Keywords

• node-red
• solutionengine
• mtconnect
• manufacturing
• lecenergy
• lecs