stranded wire, does AWG size include plastic sleeve?

[HobGoblyn]

Need to replace cables going from my 3d printer power supply to the main board.

24 volts.

The strands (together) are AWG 12 but the entire wire is AWG 8.

Which should I be buying please?

Thanks

[HobGoblyn]

Doh, maybe I should try reading whats on the actual wire   16AWG

Which must mean it's just the cable and not the sleeve and I screwed up my measuring

[Jwillis]

Diameter of conductive material Not including insulation.

[Quarlo Klobrigney]

And the space between the conductors and the atoms of air? Not included.

Quote from: Jwillis on Yesterday at 23:12:24

Diameter of conductive material Not including insulation.

[Ian.M]

Only approx 90% of a stranded wire that hasn't been die-formed will be the conductor.  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_packing )
Therefore stranded wire requires at least 10% extra measured core area to give the same CSA as solid wire.

[Monkeh]

You don't size the conductor by the insulation.

If you want to accurately measure, count the strands and measure the diameter of one strand.

[tooki]

Exactly. What matters in terms of current carrying ability is the cross-sectional area. When you see the diameter of a wire somewhere, it means the diameter of solid wire (i.e. one strand). You cannot accurately determine the AWG (nor mm²) of a stranded wire by measuring the diameter of the strand bundle. You can approximate it as Ian.M said, but to actually know, you need to measure and count the strands as Monkeh said.

And you most certainly cannot accurately determine the (copper) size of any wire by its insulation!  A 16AWG wire is 16AWG whether it's insulated or not. Wires come in all kinds of insulation, from none at all (bare wire) to thin enamel to regular PVC to slightly thick silicone for test leads, to super thick multi-layer insulation for high-voltage applications. (Like spark plug wire.)

[Alti]

Doh, maybe I should try reading whats on the actual wire

Regarding cross section and "does AWG size include plastic sleeve"
That depends on country of origin and specific standards that apply.

[Monkeh]

Doh, maybe I should try reading whats on the actual wire

Regarding cross section and "does AWG size include plastic sleeve"
That depends on country of origin and specific standards that apply.

No it doesn't. Don't confuse fraudulent goods with different standards.

[vk6zgo]

Doh, maybe I should try reading whats on the actual wire

Regarding cross section and "does AWG size include plastic sleeve"
That depends on country of origin and specific standards that apply.

These days, AWG is only a standard size in North America, so anything using that gauge system should be optimised for that market.

Back in the day, B & S, SWG, etc, certainly in Oz, & I believe, more widely in Commonwealth,countries, referred to solid wire, like you might wind a coil or transformer with.

Stranded  wire  was identified by the strand diameter & number of strands, hence  you found sizes like:-

23/0076, 7/010, 10/010, 3/029, etc.

In these examples, the strands were 0.0076 inches, 0.01 inches, & so on.

In most cases, you would work out the diameter require for a solid conductor to carry the required current, then add 10% for stranded wire, or do what most people do----- see what other people use in similar service.

In the real world you then have to use standard commercially available wire sizes, anyway.

[tooki]

Doh, maybe I should try reading whats on the actual wire

Regarding cross section and "does AWG size include plastic sleeve"
That depends on country of origin and specific standards that apply.

These days, AWG is only a standard size in North America, so anything using that gauge system should be optimised for that market.

Back in the day, B & S, SWG, etc, certainly in Oz, & I believe, more widely in Commonwealth,countries, referred to solid wire, like you might wind a coil or transformer with.

Stranded  wire  was identified by the strand diameter & number of strands, hence  you found sizes like:-

23/0076, 7/010, 10/010, 3/029, etc.

In these examples, the strands were 0.0076 inches, 0.01 inches, & so on.

In most cases, you would work out the diameter require for a solid conductor to carry the required current, then add 10% for stranded wire, or do what most people do----- see what other people use in similar service.

In the real world you then have to use standard commercially available wire sizes, anyway.

Alti wasn’t actually addressing standards, but rather just attempting a cheap shot at fraudulent Chinese junk.

As for how to determine wire size: nobody (serious) goes by wire diameter any more, since solid wire is rarely used anymore outside of building wire. Instead, you go by cross sectional area. (AWG is a proxy for this, since the gauge of a stranded wire is the same as of a solid wire with the same cross sectional area.) Whether using mm² or AWG, the proper way to choose wire is to use ampacity charts for your application, or to calculate the total resistance of the wire and calculate the resultant heating, voltage drop, etc, then determining what’s acceptable in your application.