cable,wiring for steppers cat5e

[timmyb199]

hi was wondering what people think of using cat 5e cable for telecomunications for stepper wiring.

it says 16 guage 13 amps

i am wondereing cause in previous threads someone said it is only rated for two amps this says 13 , it is 8 wire but i could only use four of them and it was only 14 dollars for 100 feet

thanks tim

[Karl_T]

I've never seen cat5 cable this big. Allways more like 22 or 24 guage. If the wires are indeed 16 guage, you should be able to carry 13 amp peak load.

Karl

[timmyb199]

what i am wondering is if of the 8 wires each is 1.6 amps mulitplied together they are 13 amps they dont look twelve guage to me but anyway has anyone used cat 5 or what wiring are people using

thanks tim

[timmyb199]

i only need 3 amps pre motor does anyone think this cable would be okay

what are the risks of me trying it

[Fifty_ohm]

If the wiring moves at all (ie, to follow the gantry) and it's not stranded wire then the wire will break after it has work hardened in the places it bends or flexes. Most cat5 cable is solid due to it being in walls and such and not moving (also cheaper than stranded). All the short cables that connect from the wall to your computer are stranded as they have to withstand being flexed. Of course you may get away with using solid core if you can eliminate any bending points but you'll have some huge loops of wire to do it.

[timmyb199]

well went with security wire that xylotex uses from home depot its 18 guage and sheilded for 50 cents a foot