Re: Wire gauge for wiring cnc controllers

first, motion control wire is rated to bend. nothing else is rated to flex.

Next time you see an old vacuum cleaner in the trash, take your knife and cut the cord off. it will have dozens of tiny-tiny strands. it is VERY flexible. then look at a dime store cheap extension cord, it will have 6-8 strands of copper to make up a conductor.

you can run computer install wire from the power supply to the last hard point, and then flex wire from that to the motion control arms that move. for that , you should be able to use computer patch cord. they are much more flexible.

something Ballendo had posted years ago was that in his discussions with a wire company engineer, the rating for bending when up about 1,00 times if it was on some sort of flex track. seems the flex tracks are engineered to never bend the wire too much so it stays in it's sweet spot for not work hardening and breaking.

Since those wire tracks are so expensive, you should be able to make some sort of workable alternate.

I am not sure what ga the patch cords you get from the stores are today, so they might be too light gauge. I'm thinking they are about 22 ????

Dave

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Brian" <electromodeler@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am ready to wire my 2.5A stepper controllers, 24v 8A power supply and 270 oz/in motors for my router. I want to mount this all in an enclosure, the motors will be connected via a "microphone" type coupling. My question is, what wire gauge do I use? Is the wire harvested from an old computer atx power supply ok? Or do I need something thicker?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Brian
>