Adding a new "Part Type" for Sets - Possibly a new Feature

[Dome-Maurice]

The current problem is that not all "sub-assemblies" are actually physical assemblies. Some are more like Sets with predetermined parts that do not need to be build or need to be stocked, only the components of it.

A real world example would be a Set of Feet added to an Endproduct. These are always mounted in sets of 4, 6, or 8, with each foot requiring 4 bolts and 4 nuts.

Currently I have to either: Add these components to the BOM (Bill of Materials) manually, or automate the process through external tools or plugins. But the structural reference to the "Set" is lost.
The Set Part would appear in the main BOM with an expandable list of its components. During the main build order allocation step this is handled like a flat BOM. So all individual components of the set are included in the allocation for the parent product.

Furthermore, this addition could be a first step in helping organize part relationships to other parts. Currently, the way templates, variants, and loosely related parts are used is a bit confusing and not very "determined." And i think it could be improved to support a more hiarchial way to describe products/parts that are made to measure but following a strict set of definitions. Imagine cabinets, they alway follow a small set of forms but can have infinite Variations if made to measure. Or even an "OOP" way of inheritance of data like datasheets, BOMs ... .

I decided to not post it as an Feature request issue, as this is something that need to be discussed a bit to detemine wether it is something that inventree could support currently. Especially the previous paragraph is only a loose idea, and only my current, open for change, opinion.

Anyway thanks to the maintainers and contributors for making Inventree.

[matmair]

I am not sure if this will not make the default experience with BOMs / parts too complex. Maybe this need to be - somehow - enabled via the plugin ecosystem. Explaining parts that are not parts but assemblies but become flat items of BOM lists when picking seems like it might be to complex for simpler use cases.

Edit: I understand the use case in general and having some kind of (first party) support in the ecosystems seems like a good mid-term goal