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Of course, I need significantly less than 500 ft to upgrade my spindle and stepper motor cable. If I buy 500 ft of it without a plan to get rid of the 450 feet I don’t need, the mrs. is going to kick my ■■■. Is anyone interested in buying in on the order?
NOTE- This cable is more bulky than the cable that ships with the X Carve kit; it has a 2.125" minimum bend radius. It may not work with the drag chain. I’m not using a drag chain, so it’s an option for me.
The cost for 50 feet is $20 dollars plus shipping.
Good question. Here at work we have a reference table for allowable ampacities with 18 AWG being 6 amps. After reviewing the NEC table 310.16, it looks like that’s a very conservative limit. Still, the datasheet for the 18 AWG version of that Belden cable claims a max current of 4A per conductor. The Dewalt DWP611 claims a 7.0 amp draw. I know the 18 AWG would be perfect for the steppers, but I was hoping to just get a single spool that worked for the steppers and router. The router probably draws much less than 7A when it’s working at reasonable chip loads, so you’re probably right in suspecting that 18 AWG would work fine.
On that note, the 18 AWG shielded 4 conductor Belden cable 5302FE is only $13 dollars plus shipping for 50 feet. So, for around $20 bucks you can upgrade your entire machine to shielded cable, stepper motors and spindle.
My wiring table (Handbook of Electronic Tables and Formulas for American Wire Gauge) says, for 18 gauge wire (not in a bundle), you can run 16 amps for chassis wiring and 2.3 amps for power transmission.
I think for the length of wire you are going to use, you would fall into the chassis wiring category.
Oh snap. I just found a crazy great deal on eBay. Screw my company discount lol.
@JohnChamplain, I’m sure 16 AWG would fit. however, like Larry says, it seems my work ampacity table is a little overconservative. I’m probably going with 18AWG now, and probably the cable in the ebay posting above. New deal- if you want in on this order it’s 12 cents per foot plus shipping (About $10-15 bucks for the whole machine after shipping, depending on where you live). I’m Detroit local and would be happy to meet up with you so you could pick it up for even cheaper. Let me know if you want in, I’ll make the order and keep it in stock so that people can ask to buy in whenever they come across this post.
NOTE- Order placed. I’ll respond to this thread with my impression when the cable arrives around the 1st of July.
