re = /^(\w+(?:-\w+)?(?: +\/)? +\w+(?:-\w+)?).+/m
str = 'AO SMITH 100108283 4500W/240V SCREW-IN ELEMENT, 11
BRA14X18HEBU / P11-042 / 310-470NL BRASS 1/4 x 1/8 HEX BUSHING
TWO-HOLE PIPE STRAP 4" 008004EG 72E 4'
subst = '$1'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html