Ok, let me try this again:

workord_id:---eqgroupname--------partname:

1------------exhaust fans-------air gasket
1------------exhaust fans-------ah-2 filter
1------------exhaust fans-------9V battery
1------------air filters--------air gasket
1------------air filters--------ah-2 filter
1------------air filtesr--------9V battery

The groupname references a group of capital equipment. The partname refers to individual parts which were used to fix said equipment.

There are two 1:M relationships which are expressed here. First of all, the relationship between workord --> eqgroupname is 1:M. Secondly, the relationship between workord --> partname is 1:M. When joining the tables together and running a query, the above table represents a typical result. Note that there is no direct relationship between eqgroupname and partname.

I think I may see the light in using subreports. For the 'parent' report, I could simply group by eqgroupname and for the 'child' report I could group by partname. Is that what you had in mind?

Thanks for the help.