AWG Wire Sizes (see table below) |
AWG: In the American Wire Gauge (AWG), diameters can be calculated by
applying the formula D(AWG)=.005·92((36-AWG)/39) inch. For the 00, 000, 0000
etc. gauges you use -1, -2, -3, which makes more sense mathematically than "double nought."
This means that in American wire gage every 6 gauge decrease gives a doubling of the wire
diameter, and every 3 gauge decrease doubles the wire cross sectional area. Similar to dB in
signal and power levels. An approximate but accurate form of this formula is:
D = .460 * (57/64)(awg +3) or D = .460 * (0.890625)(awg +3).
|
Metric Wire Gauges (see table below) |
Metric Gauge: In the Metric Gauge scale, the gauge is 10 times the diameter in millimeters, so a 50 gauge metric wire would be 5 mm in diameter. Note that in AWG the diameter goes up as the gauge goes down, but for metric gauges it is the opposite. Probably because of this confusion, most of the time metric sized wire is specified in millimeters rather than metric gauges.
|
Load Carrying Capacities (see table below) |
The following chart is a guideline of ampacity or copper wire current carrying capacity following the Handbook of Electronic Tables and Formulas for American Wire Gauge. As you might guess, the rated ampacities are just a rule of thumb. In careful engineering the voltage drop, insulatio temperature limit, thickness, thermal conductivity, and air convection and temperature should all be taken into account. The Maximum Amps for Power Transmission uses the 700 circular mils per amp rule, which is very very conservative. The Maximum Amps for Chassis Wiring is also a conservative rating, but is meant for wiring in air, and not in a bundle. For short lengths of wire, such as is used in battery packs you should trade off the resistance and load with size, weight, and flexibility. NOTE: For installations that need to conform to the National Electrical Code, you must use their guidelines. Contact your local electrician to find out what is legal!
|
Breaking Force for Cu Wire |
This estimate is based on nick-free soft annealed wire having a tensile strength of 37,000 pounds per square inch.
| AWG gauge | Conductor Diameter Inches |
Conductor Diameter mm |
Ohms per 1000 ft. |
Ohms per km |
Maximum amps for chassis wiring |
Maximum amps for power transmission |
Maximum frequency for 100% skin depth for solid conductor copper |
Breaking force Soft Annealed Cu 37000 PSI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OOOO | 0.46 | 11.684 | 0.049 | 0.16072 | 380 | 302 | 125 Hz | 6120 lbs |
| OOO | 0.4096 | 10.40384 | 0.0618 | 0.202704 | 328 | 239 | 160 Hz | 4860 lbs |
| OO | 0.3648 | 9.26592 | 0.0779 | 0.255512 | 283 | 190 | 200 Hz | 3860 lbs |
| 0 | 0.3249 | 8.25246 | 0.0983 | 0.322424 | 245 | 150 | 250 Hz | 3060 lbs |
| 1 | 0.2893 | 7.34822 | 0.1239 | 0.406392 | 211 | 119 | 325 Hz | 2430 lbs |
| 2 | 0.2576 | 6.54304 | 0.1563 | 0.512664 | 181 | 94 | 410 Hz | 1930 lbs |
| 3 | 0.2294 | 5.82676 | 0.197 | 0.64616 | 158 | 75 | 500 Hz | 1530 lbs |
| 4 | 0.2043 | 5.18922 | 0.2485 | 0.81508 | 135 | 60 | 650 Hz | 1210 lbs |
| 5 | 0.1819 | 4.62026 | 0.3133 | 1.027624 | 118 | 47 | 810 Hz | 960 lbs |
| 6 | 0.162 | 4.1148 | 0.3951 | 1.295928 | 101 | 37 | 1100 Hz | 760 lbs |
| 7 | 0.1443 | 3.66522 | 0.4982 | 1.634096 | 89 | 30 | 1300 Hz | 605 lbs |
| 8 | 0.1285 | 3.2639 | 0.6282 | 2.060496 | 73 | 24 | 1650 Hz | 480 lbs |
| 9 | 0.1144 | 2.90576 | 0.7921 | 2.598088 | 64 | 19 | 2050 Hz | 380 lbs |
| 10 | 0.1019 | 2.58826 | 0.9989 | 3.276392 | 55 | 15 | 2600 Hz | 314 lbs |
| 11 | 0.0907 | 2.30378 | 1.26 | 4.1328 | 47 | 12 | 3200 Hz | 249 lbs |
| 12 | 0.0808 | 2.05232 | 1.588 | 5.20864 | 41 | 9.3 | 4150 Hz | 197 lbs |
| 13 | 0.072 | 1.8288 | 2.003 | 6.56984 | 35 | 7.4 | 5300 Hz | 150 lbs |
| 14 | 0.0641 | 1.62814 | 2.525 | 8.282 | 32 | 5.9 | 6700 Hz | 119 lbs |
| 15 | 0.0571 | 1.45034 | 3.184 | 10.44352 | 28 | 4.7 | 8250 Hz | 94 lbs |
| 16 | 0.0508 | 1.29032 | 4.016 | 13.17248 | 22 | 3.7 | 11 k Hz | 75 lbs |
| 17 | 0.0453 | 1.15062 | 5.064 | 16.60992 | 19 | 2.9 | 13 k Hz | 59 lbs |
| 18 | 0.0403 | 1.02362 | 6.385 | 20.9428 | 16 | 2.3 | 17 kHz | 47 lbs |
| 19 | 0.0359 | 0.91186 | 8.051 | 26.40728 | 14 | 1.8 | 21 kHz | 37 lbs |
| 20 | 0.032 | 0.8128 | 10.15 | 33.292 | 11 | 1.5 | 27 kHz | 29 lbs |
| 21 | 0.0285 | 0.7239 | 12.8 | 41.984 | 9 | 1.2 | 33 kHz | 23 lbs |
| 22 | 0.0254 | 0.64516 | 16.14 | 52.9392 | 7 | 0.92 | 42 kHz | 18 lbs |
| 23 | 0.0226 | 0.57404 | 20.36 | 66.7808 | 4.7 | 0.729 | 53 kHz | 14.5 lbs |
| 24 | 0.0201 | 0.51054 | 25.67 | 84.1976 | 3.5 | 0.577 | 68 kHz | 11.5 lbs |
| 25 | 0.0179 | 0.45466 | 32.37 | 106.1736 | 2.7 | 0.457 | 85 kHz | 9 lbs |
| 26 | 0.0159 | 0.40386 | 40.81 | 133.8568 | 2.2 | 0.361 | 107 kH | 7.2 lbs |
| 27 | 0.0142 | 0.36068 | 51.47 | 168.8216 | 1.7 | 0.288 | 130 kHz | 5.5 lbs |
| 28 | 0.0126 | 0.32004 | 64.9 | 212.872 | 1.4 | 0.226 | 170 kHz | 4.5 lbs |
| 29 | 0.0113 | 0.28702 | 81.83 | 268.4024 | 1.2 | 0.182 | 210 kHz | 3.6 lbs |
| 30 | 0.01 | 0.254 | 103.2 | 338.496 | 0.86 | 0.142 | 270 kHz | 2.75 lbs |
| 31 | 0.0089 | 0.22606 | 130.1 | 426.728 | 0.7 | 0.113 | 340 kHz | 2.25 lbs |
| 32 | 0.008 | 0.2032 | 164.1 | 538.248 | 0.53 | 0.091 | 430 kHz | 1.8 lbs |
| Metric 2.0 | 0.00787 | 0.200 | 169.39 | 555.61 | 0.51 | 0.088 | 440 kHz | |
| 33 | 0.0071 | 0.18034 | 206.9 | 678.632 | 0.43 | 0.072 | 540 kHz | 1.3 lbs |
| Metric 1.8 | 0.00709 | 0.180 | 207.5 | 680.55 | 0.43 | 0.072 | 540 kHz | |
| 34 | 0.0063 | 0.16002 | 260.9 | 855.752 | 0.33 | 0.056 | 690 kHz | 1.1 lbs |
| Metric 1.6 | 0.0063 | 0.16002 | 260.9 | 855.752 | 0.33 | 0.056 | 690 kHz | |
| 35 | 0.0056 | 0.14224 | 329 | 1079.12 | 0.27 | 0.044 | 870 kHz | 0.92 lbs |
| Metric 1.4 | .00551 | .140 | 339 | 1114 | 0.26 | 0.043 | 900 kHz | |
| 36 | 0.005 | 0.127 | 414.8 | 1360 | 0.21 | 0.035 | 1100 kHz | 0.72 lbs |
| Metric 1.25 | .00492 | 0.125 | 428.2 | 1404 | 0.20 | 0.034 | 1150 kHz | |
| 37 | 0.0045 | 0.1143 | 523.1 | 1715 | 0.17 | 0.0289 | 1350 kHz | 0.57 lbs |
| Metric 1.12 | .00441 | 0.112 | 533.8 | 1750 | 0.163 | 0.0277 | 1400 kHz | |
| 38 | 0.004 | 0.1016 | 659.6 | 2163 | 0.13 | 0.0228 | 1750 kHz | 0.45 lbs |
| Metric 1 | .00394 | 0.1000 | 670.2 | 2198 | 0.126 | 0.0225 | 1750 kHz | |
| 39 | 0.0035 | 0.0889 | 831.8 | 2728 | 0.11 | 0.0175 | 2250 kHz | 0.36 lbs |
| 40 | 0.0031 | 0.07874 | 1049 | 3440 | 0.09 | 0.0137 | 2900 kHz | 0.29 lbs |
|
|
