Cost Determination, Section 5.3.4.4

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

Go back and read the rules I quoted from FIRST. You only have to account for the amount of material you actually use, whether it comes in 1Qt cans, 55 gallon drums, or 20,000 gallon tanker railroad cars.

• The cost of items purchased in bulk or large quantities may be prorated on the basis of the smallest commonly available unit that satisfies the need for the item.

Example: A team purchases a 4' x 4' sheet of aluminum, but only uses a piece 10” x 10” on their robot. The team identifies a source that sells aluminum sheet in 1’ x1’ pieces. The team may cost their part on the basis of a 1’ x 1’ piece, even though they cut the piece from a larger bulk purchase. They do not have to account for the entire 4’ x 4’ bulk purchase item.

I've been reading this part of the rules carefully for several years now. It does not say that you only have to account for the amount of material you actually use. It says that you have to account for the cost of the smallest commonly available unit that satisfies the need for the item. In the example above, the smallest commonly available unit is a 1' x 1' sheet, so the team must include the cost of that sheet, not just the 10" x 10" they actually used.

In the case of SI40 resin, the smallest commonly available unit is 10kg. When a smaller unit (e.g., one liter for $250) is commonly available, I'll gladly fire up the Viper to make parts for 931.