30 Gauge Wire & DC Motor?

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redbrickhat's Avatar (by Gravatar)redbrickhat posted on
January 31, 2006, 7:09 pm
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I was wondering if I can use 30 gauge wire-wrapping wire to power a DC
motor.

The motor is a "Gear Motor 2" from www.hobbyengineering.com with the
following specifications:

"This motor offers 50 in-oz of torque and rotates at 38 rpm (just a bit
slower than a servo). With a 5V power source it draws 600mA when
stalled and 52ma when unloaded. It has a 7mm double-flat output shaft,
built-in clutch, and convenient mounting screw holes."

The webpage http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm  says that 30 gauge
wire has "Maximum amps for chassis wiring" of 0.86 and "Maximum amps
for power transmission" of  0.142, both values very conservative.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Thank you.


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Lord Garth's Avatar (by Gravatar)Lord Garth posted on
January 31, 2006, 8:51 pm
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Re: 30 Gauge Wire & DC Motor?



I believe the rated current maximum for 30 gauge kynar insulated wire wrap
wire
is 500mA.  I don't think you should use that wire near to or greater than
its rating.

Choose a multistrand wire instead.




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Rich Grise's Avatar (by Gravatar)Rich Grise posted on
January 31, 2006, 10:52 pm
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Re: 30 Gauge Wire & DC Motor?



Don't do it. That kind of wire isn't for that kind of application. Don't
use solid wire for hookup to something like a motor. In fact, avoid it
everywhere if at all possible except for wire-wrapping, protoboards, and
bus wires, otherwise use stranded. And for a motor that could stall at 600
mA, I'd use at least #28, preferably #26. What kind of application is it?
is there a lot of vibration?

Here Ya Go:
http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T061/1498.pdf

Cheers!
Rich



Chris's Avatar (by Gravatar)Chris posted on
February 1, 2006, 5:56 am
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Re: 30 Gauge Wire & DC Motor?


<snip>

As you noted yourself, 30 gauge wire is rated for about .14A for "power
transmission".  Your stall current is more than 4 times that.  Under
stall conditions, the wire might not fuse, but it will certainly get
real warm.  No way to run an ant farm.

Copper hasn't become that expensive.  In the "real world", you would
use a minimum of 22AWG stranded wire for this purpose.

Splurge a little.  The dominant consideration here is the physical
strength and durability of the wire and the connection.

Good luck
Chris


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