wire gauges to use for printer

Hi everyone!

I'm nearing the end of my month long build and I need a little help with wire selection. Mainly with what wires to use...
Can I use 22 gauge wire for the steppers, therm resister and some smaller PC wire for all the smaller electronics? I have a few spools of wire from radio shack I use for other projects it reads ( AWM 1007 22AWG 80C 300V 1A VW-1 )

Thank you for the help!
CK

22 AWG is fine for the steppers and thermistors and pretty much anything other than the hot end and heated bed (if equipped). You could go smaller on the thermisters wiring as well as end stops as the current being drawn in both cases is pretty minimal but then you start dealing with more fragile wire that's subject to bumps and movement. Sometimes smaller isn't better. Heated bed and hot end wiring should be a gauge that's appropriate for the currents you're drawing. The absolute smallest I would go is 22AWG for the hot end ([email protected] = 40 watt heater) and 18 for a heated bed (12v @ 10 amps = 120 watts) for the heated bed, although 18 or 16 AWG for the hot end and 14 or 12 AWG for the bed are a more conservative safer numbers.

Great thank you so much! one last over look what about going from the PSU to the RAMPS board would the 14/16AWG be ok?

Thank you again!
Ck

I use 14AWG from the PSU to the Ramps.

Quote
mrboost
Great thank you so much! one last over look what about going from the PSU to the RAMPS board would the 14/16AWG be ok?
Ck

Yes, although if you're using a ATX style power supply you can also use multiple smaller gauge wire too.

The numbers just come from an ampacity table like this one. Use the chassis wiring column, not power transmission.