AWG Size (American Wire Gauge)
It is the American wire gauge system that expresses conductor thickness with a number. As the number gets smaller the cross-section gets larger; a decrease of three numbers roughly doubles the cross-section. Since mm² is used in Turkey, a conversion is needed for imported cable and actuator data.
Frequently used equivalents: 16 AWG is approximately 1.3 mm², 14 AWG approximately 2.1 mm², 12 AWG approximately 3.3 mm², 10 AWG approximately 5.26 mm², 8 AWG approximately 8.4 mm² and 4 AWG approximately 21 mm².
As a rough current guide for short 12 V lines, 16 AWG is given as approximately 10 A, 12 AWG approximately 20 A, 8 AWG approximately 40 A, 4 AWG approximately 80 A. As the line gets longer these values become invalid, because what is decisive is not heating but the loss along the line.
- Convert an imported actuator cable whose label states only AWG to its mm² equivalent with this table.
- In multi-strand flexible cable the nominal cross-section and the actual copper cross-section may differ; in cheap cable this difference is noticeable.
- Tinned copper is more resistant to oxidation in humid environments.
Do not look only at the number when selecting cable: the conductor material must be copper, since copper-clad aluminium conductors show noticeably higher resistance at the same gauge.
The context in which this term is used: DC Motor Driver Selection Guide