I will admit that our light is not sticking up enough to be visible the full 4 inches, but it's a good thing it isn't. We go under the bar, so right there it makes it really hard for us to get a light on there. Secondly, our light was already broken in competition. The red cover came off when a robot drove up onto us in autonomous mode and the thing that revolves around completely broke off. Its amazing the bulb didn't break. If it was up 4 inches the damage would have been much worse. We also never had time to fix it because of the short times between matches, which made Sacramento quite exciting. We would return from a match only to hear "2nd call for team 254" or sometimes even "last call for team 254."

In short, our light is perfectly visible even though it doesn't necessarily follow the 4 inch rule. The 4 inch rule makes lights too vulnerable to flying arms and falling boxes.

how much detail was put into your build of materials list? For example length and diameters of screws and bolts important? I have most of them but not all. Also cost I am pretty sure I have it right. just some suggestions would be good

BOM
 

We mainly relied on gracious professionalism when it came to the Bill of Materials. We trusted teams to be honest and it worked out.
As to format, we had everything from a handwritten list with (plywood= $10) to an excel spreadsheet (60 tooth 24 DP gear, MSC part # etc...) One thing that we do ask is that you have it totaled so they can write down the cost when the inspectors get to your pit.

(As a side note-- you do not need to include the cost of anything less than 1.00 And also- screw qty 3 $3.5 would be perfectly fine, I think) The only time I think you would want to make it more detailed is when you use it as a guide for ordering spare parts.