With the continuous advancement of analog technology, simulators have found widespread application in both military and civilian fields. These systems play a crucial role in training personnel and developing prototypes, delivering significant economic and social benefits. However, in practice, many simulators are developed for different models within the same equipment series, leading to high costs and inefficient use of storage space. To address these issues, creating a universal simulator tailored to a specific field has become an attractive solution. This paper analyzes the necessity of developing such a universal simulator from the perspectives of equipment development, simulation training, and personnel training, while also conducting a feasibility study. As a result, two universal simulators—namely, a search radar simulator and a satellite measurement and control simulator—were designed.
During the design and development of a general-purpose simulator for a certain type of ship electronic equipment, it was observed that the overall structure and layout of different models in the same series are largely similar, with only minor differences in local operating components. To achieve a generalized design, this paper introduces a multi-function rotary operation panel based on automatic stepping motor control.
**1. Rotary Operation Panel Hardware Design**
**1.1 Composition**
The rotary operation panel consists of a component trihedron, a control board, a stepping motor assembly, a rotating body spindle, and a host computer. The control board sends commands to the stepping motor assembly, which then rotates the component trihedron through the main shaft. The process works as follows:
(1) The host computer software sends a rotation switching command to the control board, transmitting step pulse and direction level signals to the stepping motor assembly.
(2) Upon receiving the signal, the stepping motor assembly rotates the component trihedron to the correct position and stops.
(3) The user interacts with the components on the trihedron, and the results are uploaded to the host computer software for further processing.
**1.2 Component Trihedron Design**
In a general simulator for ship electronics, the component trihedron supports three different interface layouts (see Figure 1). The three faces—labeled A, B, and C—each contain distinct components. Face A includes five buttons; face B has two indicator lights, one buzzer, one button, and three knobs; and face C contains four knobs.
The signals from the trihedron are transmitted to the control board via data lines. To prevent cable entanglement during rotation, one face is designated as the reference, while the other two operate using a bidirectional reset mechanism.
**1.3 Control Panel Design**
The control board of the rotary panel comprises a main controller, power supply circuit, CAN communication circuit, motor drive circuit, and component communication circuit (see Figure 2). The main controller receives commands from the host computer and rotates the trihedron accordingly. The power supply converts 12V to 5V, and then to 3.3V for the main controller. The CAN communication circuit uses a CAN bus interface and transceiver to receive commands from the host computer. The motor drive circuit sends step pulses and direction signals to the motor, enabling the trihedron to rotate. The component communication circuit facilitates data exchange between the components and the host computer.
**2. Communication Protocol Design**
To enable communication between the host computer and the control board, a communication protocol was designed. The protocol includes two types of instructions:
(1) The host computer sends a trihedron switching command to the control board.
(2) The control board sends the status of the operation panel components back to the host computer.
The communication protocol format is shown in Table 1.
**3. Software Design**
**3.1 Lower Computer Software Design**
The lower-level software manages the motor-driven rotation of the trihedron and monitors the status of the scanning components.
**3.1.1 Receive Command for Rotating Panel**
The system checks for incoming commands. If a command is received, it proceeds to the next step, otherwise, it continues waiting. It sets the step pulse and direction signal, then rotates the panel to the desired position.
**3.1.2 Scanning Component Status**
A timer is started to periodically scan the component status. When a change is detected, the updated status is sent to the host computer; otherwise, the scan continues.
**3.2 PC Software Design**
The PC software utilizes object-oriented programming, focusing on the host computer communication class. A USB-CAN converter from Chime Electronics is used, along with a dynamic library for secondary development. Using VC++, the communication class is implemented to handle panel switching and component status monitoring. This class includes methods for device initialization, data transmission, and data reception.
**InitCan Method**
This method initializes and connects the CAN device. Input parameters include the device number and baud rate, and it returns a Boolean value indicating whether the device is successfully connected.
**SendData Method**
This method sends the specified command. It takes the display instruction as input and returns a Boolean value indicating success or failure.
**RecvData Method**
This method receives and parses incoming commands. It calls the Can_receive function from the dynamic library, then processes the data according to the protocol. If the data does not conform, it is ignored.
**4. Conclusion**
This paper presents a multi-function rotary operation panel controlled by a stepping motor, applied in the development of a general-purpose simulator for a specific type of ship electronic equipment. It effectively addresses the challenge of simulating different models within the same series. The design can also be adapted for other multifunctional electromechanical devices, offering a practical solution when the available space on the operation panel is limited.
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