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Bill of Materials In a production control environment, a bill of materials (BOM) is a data model used to represent the relationship of a part to another part. Suppose we produce and sell bicycles. Suppose further that we have a certain bicycle named ExtremeCycle101, and that the parts that go into producing this type of bike can be partly illustrated as shown below.
ExtremeCycle101 . . HandleBarX FrameX SeatB919 Wheel111 Frame101 PedalZ1 Rim120 Spoke12
The diagram above informs us that an ExtremeCycle101 I an assembly (it has component parts) that is constructed from those types of parts shown at the second level (HandleBarX, FrameX, SeatB919, Wheel111, …). HandleBarX is a part, it is not an assembly. Note that FrameX is another assembly made from a specific frame and pedals. The type of diagram shown above is called a parts explosion; it can show in great detail the various part that are required to build the part shown at the top, at the root. In some enterprise, a parts explosion could detail hundreds or thousands of parts. Another common way to illustrate this information is in a table such as:
Part Component Quantity ExtremeCycle101 HandleBarX 1 ExtremeCycle101 FrameX 1 ExtremeCycle101 SeatB919 1 ExtremeCycle101 Wheel111 2 FrameX Frame101 1 FrameX PedalZ1 2 Wheel111 Rim120 1 Wheel111 Spoke12 21