A Control Desk Simulator of a "Production Line" developed using .NET Windows Forms (C#) technology. The application simulates the operation of a control panel in an industrial plant, integrating a supervisory system for the technical parameters of a machine (motor) with an operator alertness self-diagnosis system (dead man's switch) and PC hardware diagnostics.
- Thermal Process Simulation: A realistic model of motor temperature changes based on its operational state (WORKING/OFF) and the activation of the cooling fan. A random noise generator has been introduced to make the simulation more realistic.
- Automatic Safety Systems:
- Immediate emergency shutdown (Machine Stop) upon exceeding a critical temperature of 140°C.
- A warning timer that shuts down the process if operations run under sub-optimal conditions (<45°C or >95°C) for longer than 10 seconds.
- Operator Self-Diagnosis (Dead Man's Switch): A system verifying the presence and alertness of the operator. Interaction (clicking a button) is required every 30 seconds. A lack of response triggers an 11-second alarm countdown, after which the production line safely shuts down.
- PC System Diagnostics: Real-time monitoring of CPU and RAM utilization with dynamic progress bar visualization (colors: green, yellow, red) using the
LibreHardwareMonitorlibrary. - Authorization & Role Management System: A login screen that verifies credentials against a local JSON database (
users.json). Three access levels are supported:- Viewer: Read-only access to parameters; execution buttons are disabled.
- Operator: Full control over the line (Motor Start/Stop, cooling fan, reset, E-STOP).
- Admin: Operator privileges + access to user account management (adding/editing accounts).
| Idle State & Low Temperature Warning | Normal Operation |
|---|---|
 The control panel when the engine is turned OFF and the temperature is sub-optimal. |
 The system operating within the optimal temperature range with an 'Operator' access level. |
| Critical State & Operator Verification | User Management (Admin Privileges) |
 The interface showing elevated temperatures alongside the active Dead Man's Switch countdown. |
 The management window for adding new users, accessible exclusively with Administrator privileges. |
To compile and run the project, you will need:
- Operating System: Windows 10 / 11
- Runtime Environment: .NET 6.0 SDK or newer
- IDE: Visual Studio 2022 (recommended) or Rider
- Open the solution file
productionLine.slnxin Visual Studio 2022. - Wait for the NuGet packages to restore (specifically
LibreHardwareMonitor.Hardware). - Ensure that the
productionLineproject is set as the startup project and press F5 (or the Start button) to build and run the application.
Navigate to the project's root source directory and build/run it using the .NET CLI:
cd src
dotnet restore
dotnet runThe user database is located in the src/users.json file. Below are the default login credentials for each access level (provided the JSON file has been initialized):
| Role | Username | Password |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | admin |
(Check users.json) |
| Operator | operator |
(Check users.json) |
| Viewer | viewer |
(Check users.json) |
New accounts can be added and modified directly within the application interface after logging into an account with Administrator privileges (Level 3).
The project has been organized according to best practices regarding the separation of source code and documentation:
ProductionLineSimulator/
├── .git/
├── .vs/
├── docs/ # Project documentation
├── src/ # Application source code (.NET)
│ ├── Assets/ # Graphical resources and icons
│ ├── Properties/ # Assembly properties and configuration
│ ├── addUserForm.cs # Form for adding new users
│ ├── editUsersForm.cs # Form for modifying and deleting accounts
│ ├── loginForm.cs # Login window and User class definition
│ ├── mainForm.cs # Main control panel (logic and timers)
│ ├── Program.cs # Application entry point (Main)
│ ├── productionLine.csproj # C# project file
│ └── users.json # Local user database (JSON)
├── .gitignore
├── LICENCE.md
├── productionLine.slnx # New Visual Studio Solution file format
└── README.md