Had a melt down with the replacement wire on the wire from board to laser module 10watt…
I had an idea it was a bit light and the testing was all good until lasering for 5 mins and then the wire melted and the laser stopped, so I hope I have not done any serious damage…
So is replacement wire 26AWG ok or do I need ???
Assuming it’s a Sculpfun S9 10W laser that has a labelled max input of 12V 5A you’d be looking at 20 AWG or larger (smaller number) to meet that 5 amp demand.
What size was the wire that melted? Was it the wire that came with the equipment? Why did it melt?
Thanks Daryl, yes S9 with 10 watt…I installed a linear rail… and put in a drag chain for the wiring for the laser, and I didn’t do a great job on the plug to the laser and so after a couple months of the plug wire popping out, I decided to replace said plug and wire and the xtra wire was a little on the light side and it melted…
It was a replacement 22 AWG wire, and the original laser was 5.5 Watt … so I don’t know that size…
So I think I should replace from the board to laser with new wire 20 AWG…
Your thoughts…
Sounds like a good plan. Use stranded wire. Ensure that wires/cables are secured at both ends of your drag chain and that there is room for them to move around inside the cable chain.
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Spend extra money and use silicone meter lead wire. It handles flexing better.
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And likely has more strands to distribute the load.
Thanks guys the silicone wire was my first choice…
But trying to get that stuff in New Zealand is difficult and if I can find it it’s outa stock…
So looks like waiting 2 weeks from overseas…
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Same current capacity no matter how many strands. More strands means finer wires that do not break from flexing.
Exactly my point since we were talking about flexing behavior…
Off topic, FYI…
As long as it’s DC … If it’s not DC, you have to take into account skin effect.
Ever hear of Litz wire?
Yes, each strand is insulated, and it is sometimes braided, to reduce skin effect, which is an RF issue.
I taught electronics in a classroom for 5 years. Give me another question. 
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