Are the materials used for the Bumpers required to be listed on the Bill of Materials?
We have never included them. They do not apply to the robot cost accounting. So my semi informed none GDC approved answer is no
The way I see it in regards to A LOT of rules is that the bumpers are seen as a completely separate entity from the ROBOT and merely interface with the ROBOT, per the manual definition of ROBOT. We’ve never put them on our BOM and nothing’s ever been said of it.
Thanks for the answers. Hopefully I’ll remember to get our head mentor to ask it in the Q&A for an official answer, just in case.
To be honest. I have never seen an inspector ever do more than glance at the BOM. But then we have never been close to the $4000 limit.
If you want to be safe, put them on the BOM. It will not hurt.
That’s what we were thinking :]
Ryan,
Bumper materials do not need to be on the BOM.
Frank, you would be surprised what an experienced inspector can pick up from your BOM with just a glance.
Even on a BOM from a team as experienced as 111 
Al, I only report my experience. By no means I am trying to imply the inspectors are being lax. We try to be rule complaint in everything, including the BOM. Just because the inspector does not look closely at something, it does not mean you can be sloppy. So it can be just as you say, we try to have a complete readable BOM. Besides past experience is no predictor of what the next inspector is going to look at closely. (Aside from a complete inspection.) 
At one of our competitions last year, our BOM was scrutenized by the inspector, including the cost for KoP items (which, to my knowledge, should be zero).
So “Be Prepared” would be a good mind set to get through inspection.
Jon,
I thought you had forgotten.
Yeah, we complain about the rules too…:rolleyes:
It is true, as an inspector I spend generally less than 30 seconds looking at your BOM. But an an experienced robot builder, I can spot what’s missing from it, and when something on it is “fishy”.