title	Planar Mechanics - Collaboration Guide
description	Contributing guide for Planar Mechanics course content
tableOfContents	true
sidebar	order 999

Planar Mechanics

Read this course at: https://siliconwit.com/education/planar-mechanics/

A course on kinematic and dynamic analysis of planar mechanisms for mechatronic systems. Covers joint types and constraint analysis, position analysis of linkages, velocity analysis with instantaneous centers, acceleration and dynamic forces, cam-follower systems, and force analysis with mechanism synthesis.

Lessons

#	Title
1	Kinematic Joints and Constraint Analysis
2	Position Analysis of Planar Linkages
3	Velocity Analysis and Instantaneous Centers
4	Acceleration Analysis and Dynamic Forces
5	Cam-Follower Systems and Motion Programming
6	Force Analysis and Mechanism Synthesis

File Structure

planar-mechanics/
├── index.mdx
├── kinematic-joints-constraint-analysis.mdx
├── position-analysis-planar-linkages.mdx
├── velocity-analysis-instantaneous-centers.mdx
├── acceleration-analysis-dynamic-forces.mdx
├── cam-follower-systems-motion-programming.mdx
├── force-analysis-mechanism-synthesis.mdx
└── README.md

How to Contribute

All commands below work on Linux, macOS, and Windows (using Git Bash, PowerShell, or Command Prompt with Git installed).

For Team Members (with push access)

First time setup (clone the repo once):

git clone https://github.com/SiliconWit/planar-mechanics.git
cd planar-mechanics

Every time you start working:

git pull origin main

Always pull before making changes. This avoids conflicts with other contributors.

After making your changes:

git add .
git commit -m "Brief description of what you changed"
git push origin main

If you get a push error (someone pushed before you):

git pull origin main

Git will merge the changes automatically in most cases. If there is a conflict, Git will mark the conflicting lines in the file. Open the file, choose which version to keep, then:

git add .
git commit -m "Resolve merge conflict"
git push origin main

Tips to avoid conflicts:

• Always git pull origin main before you start working
• Push your changes as soon as you are done, do not hold onto uncommitted work for long
• Coordinate with other contributors so two people are not editing the same file at the same time

For External Contributors (without push access)

1. Fork the repository: SiliconWit/planar-mechanics
2. Clone your fork:

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/planar-mechanics.git
   cd planar-mechanics

3. Make your changes and commit:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Brief description of what you changed"
   git push origin main

4. Open a Pull Request against main on the original repository
5. Describe what you changed and why in the PR description

Content Standards

• All lesson files use .mdx format
• <BionicText> may be used in later content sections but not in lesson intro paragraphs
• Code blocks should include a title attribute:

  ```python title="linkage_position.py"
  import numpy as np
  theta3 = np.arctan2(B_y, B_x)
  ```

• Use Starlight components (<Tabs>, <TabItem>, <Steps>, <Card>) where appropriate
• Keep paragraphs concise and focused on practical application
• Include working Python examples that readers can run directly
• Mathematical notation uses LaTeX in MDX

Local Development

Clone the main site repository and initialize submodules:

git clone --recurse-submodules <main-repo-url>
cd siliconwit-com
npm install
npm run dev

To test a production build:

npm run build

License

This course content is released under the MIT License.