Wire size and or type

[ChrisC73]

I am hopefully getting ready to start building my 3 axis cnc router. my question is what type of and or what size wire should i use to wire the stepper motors? Can I use CAT5 wire?

[doorknob]

The answer depends on factors such as the length of cable that you plan to use and the current rating of your motors.

In general, I would not advise using CAT5 for motor wiring in most cases. The typical CAT5 cable designed for in-wall use has solid wire conductors, which are prone to breakage from vibration or flexing. Also, the wire gauge used in a CAT5 cable has a fairly small diameter (#24 AWG), which means that it is unsuitable for long runs when carrying anything other than a relatively small amount of current.

You will probably want to use cable made from stranded wire, and probably using a wire gauge of #20 AWG or #18 AWG.

Here is an example of such a cable from one vendor:

CNCRouterParts

[ChrisC73]

Thanks doorknob for the reply. I may be replying on your expertise in the future.

[piperpilot]

I use 22AWG, stranded, shielded alarm wire. I got 8 conductor wire so I can run all 8 wires for the steppers, even though with the commons, you can get away with less.

I bought a whole box of 500' so have some to spare, if you are interested, I'd be happy to send you some at cost. Its $0.30 per foot plus $5 USPS Priority flat rate shipping. PM me if interested.

Curtis