Help!!! Bill of Materials...

[saihla]

Completely missed the fact that we needed a B.O.M.!!! Everything we have on the bot is FIRST approved in the manual, but not recorded. How precise do they really need it? They want weights and prices of individual parts...? Do we need to record the parts that they sent us? What about parts that were donated, can we record the price as zero? Is there actually a chance of disqualification here if we make errors or does it just make the judges' jobs a bit harder?

[saihla]

And... do we need to know precisely how many small things [nuts, screws...] that we used, or can we estimate?

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by saihla

Completely missed the fact that we needed a B.O.M.!!! Everything we have on the bot is FIRST approved in the manual, but not recorded. How precise do they really need it? They want weights and prices of individual parts...? Do we need to record the parts that they sent us? What about parts that were donated, can we record the price as zero? Is there actually a chance of disqualification here if we make errors or does it just make the judges' jobs a bit harder?

First off, I'd check Section 8 "The Robot" of the manual. FIRST's rules regarding the BOM can be found there. I wouldn't worry too much about precision. The cost can only be for the smallest commercially available piece. For example, if I use a square foot of Lexan, but Lexan only comes in 4x8 sheets, I have to record the price of the whole sheet. Do the best that you can, and it won't be a problem. Since you probably can't estimate how many feet of stock you used, I'd look up the prices, so you can quickly calculate the costs on Thursday. Other things though you can probably do now.

[saihla]

Do we need to include the peices from the Kit of Parts?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by saihla

Do we need to include the peices from the Kit of Parts?

I would, but put "KOP" instead of a cost.

[Matt H.]

I don't believe you need to include anything from the kop; we as a team have never done so. The weights are not required only reccomended for your own weight tracking purposes.

[saihla]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Saved us a ton of time right there. Quick question - is electrical tape allowed for non-electric purposes? We're using a bit to secure our claw...

[vhcook]

Tape (of any kind (except velcro tape or sticky foam)) is not allowed to be used to attach components to the robot. Here's the relevant rule:

<R38> Adhesive backed tapes shall not be used as a structural fastener, or to connect two or more parts together. Adhesive backed tapes may only be used as follows:

• Textured or coated tapes may be used to provide an alternate surface finish or treatment to a portion of the ROBOT.

• Velcro tape, any hook and loop tape or double-sided sticky foam may be used for attaching components to the ROBOT.

• Reflective tape may be used with optical sensors in small amounts.

• Adhesive backed tape and labels may be used for labeling purposes on wires, cables, pneumatic lines, etc.

• Electrical tape may be used as an electrical insulator.