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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.

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ExtremeCycle101

HandleBarX FrameX SeatB919 Wheel111

Frame101 PedalZ1 Rim120 Spoke12

. .

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The diagram above informs us that an ExtremeCycle101 Ian assembly (it has component parts) that is constructedfrom those types of parts shown at the second level(HandleBarX, FrameX, SeatB919, Wheel111, …).HandleBarX is a part, it is not an assembly. Note thatFrameX is another assembly made from a specific frameand pedals. The type of diagram shown above is called aparts explosion; it can show in great detail the various partthat are required to build the part shown at the top, at theroot. In some enterprise, a parts explosion could detailhundreds or thousands of parts. Another common way toillustrate this information is in a table such as:

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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