Ways to extend wiring?

Hi, I have a question about the topic title. so ive been looking for the keywords to search in google and keep coming out with nothing related to my searches. so basically I need to extend the wiring from my nema17, e3dv6 and motor fans so that they reach my arduino board but I cant for the life of me find any extension wire. is there anyone here that can link me to rolls of wires with all the colors needed to connect not only what I listed but is also compatible with everything else related to the 3d printer. or is there differences in gauge, length to signal ratio?

for example, i need enough to be able to pull wires(of different colors like the ones of the motors) from spools and just cut them to a length i want with wire cutters and then just connect/solder it to a female to female, male to male or female to male connector and then attach them to the arduino/azteeg/Rambo etc...

I hope my explanations are clear enough, im pretty bad at explaining stuff sometimes lol. well thanks guys for any input. i really need to order these wires(whatever their names maybe) asap or i might be sitting on a %95 built printer due to short wiring. thanks!

I use what is roughly equivalent to spools of 22 awg multi-core hookup wire to extend motor and fan cables without any problems. They're readily available in spools in all the colours you need.

[www.alliedelec.com]

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

thank you!!!!!! wow this is a huge relief. ok so what colors do you suggest i buy? aren't they all the same type of wire, just with a different insulation color on top?

also, im low on cash. know of any place that sells for lower? less length of course. so about $10 per spool of say, 25 ft or so would suffice for me. as soon as i get some cash in ill go for the longer rolls. thanks again.

Find a scrap metal dealer. Tell him what you want. He might have it.

As I was involved in scrap and we got all sorts of spooled wire.

good luck

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dave³
I need to extend the wiring from my nema17, e3dv6 and motor fans

Did you say, you want to extent the cables for the E3Dv6? Than you might look for a pair of thicker wire than 22AWG or the hotend will stay too"cold".
I´m not familiar with these AWG sizes, probably some US-reprapper can tell?
If you have a smart-LCD, don´t extend these cables. They already work like antennas and I had scrambled screens more than once.
-Olaf

[www.amazon.com] $22 for 6 25 foot spools, including red, black green and blue (which are the colours of the stepper wires)

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

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o_lampe
Did you say, you want to extent the cables for the E3Dv6? Than you might look for a pair of thicker wire than 22AWG or the hotend will stay too"cold".
I´m not familiar with these AWG sizes, probably some US-reprapper can tell?
If you have a smart-LCD, don´t extend these cables. They already work like antennas and I had scrambled screens more than once.
-Olaf

This is an important point. The heating element wires are already pretty long and should be long enough for most purposes, but if you need to extend them, use 14 AWG (22 AWG is still OK for fans and stepper motors).

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

thanks a million for the links and the advice. its gonna help a lot!

i found this wire, is this better? i plan on buying the 22 gauge from the link and was wondering if this would also be a good buy

are these the same as the ones you linked me too? only a thicker wire i am assuming.
6 color 18 gauge 100ft

heya 3dkarma, thanks for letting me know about that, i had no clue. im not sure if i will extend it BUT to be on the safe side i might buy a kit like this, that is, if the wires are the correct type for the hot end. let me know what you think about the wires in this link below. thanks!
14 gauge 100 ft 6 color wire

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Flexible Stranded Copper Clad Aluminum

That doesn´t sound good for my foreign ears.
-Olaf

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davedavedave
thanks a million for the links and the advice. its gonna help a lot!

i found this wire, is this better? i plan on buying the 22 gauge from the link and was wondering if this would also be a good buy

are these the same as the ones you linked me too? only a thicker wire i am assuming.
6 color 18 gauge 100ft

The thicker the wires are, the less flexibility they will have. I can't tell what kind of quality the wires are without looking at a sample, though. The ratings might be your best guide. I would be careful that it is all copper and not copper clad aluminium, though.

heya 3dkarma, thanks for letting me know about that, i had no clue. im not sure if i will extend it BUT to be on the safe side i might buy a kit like this, that is, if the wires are the correct type for the hot end. let me know what you think about the wires in this link below. thanks!
14 gauge 100 ft 6 color wire

They look OK and should handle the voltage OK according to the description, but again the reviews are probably your best bet for a recommendation.

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

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o_lampe

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Flexible Stranded Copper Clad Aluminum

That doesn´t sound good for my foreign ears.
-Olaf

HAHAH!

so it looks like i wont be messing with those. i want things that wont ruin anything in the long run, or at least will not be the one of the reasons something isn't working right in my printer.

hey 3dkarma, would you buy them? since you guys don't seem to like the sound of those product details, i am leaning away from buying them completely, but if you guys would definitely buy them then ill give them a try, but only if you guys would. if not then i id rather spend a bit more for products worth my money

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3Dkarma
I would be careful that it is all copper and not copper clad aluminium, though.

He already answered it, I´d say...

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o_lampe

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3Dkarma
I would be careful that it is all copper and not copper clad aluminium, though.

He already answered it, I´d say...

Ohh! yea I have read about copper clad aluminum. dumb me. yes I will NOT be buying those lol. a bit of bending and bye bye wires. Ill just stick to copper.

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o_lampe
Did you say, you want to extent the cables for the E3Dv6? Than you might look for a pair of thicker wire than 22AWG or the hotend will stay too"cold".
I´m not familiar with these AWG sizes, probably some US-reprapper can tell?

22 AWG is perfectly fine for a hot end as it's rated, at least by NEC (National Electric Code), for 7 amps for chassis wiring. If you're drawing 7+ amps for your hot end you have the largest hot end heater I've ever heard of.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2015 04:51PM by cdru.

quick question about gauges. so I know there are many different wire gauges but what I want to know is what are the downsides to using a 14 gauge wire on something like a nema17 or cooling fans? so pretty much, are there negatives to using say, 12 or 14 gauge wires on something that doesn't require such a big wire? thanks

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cdru

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o_lampe
Did you say, you want to extent the cables for the E3Dv6? Than you might look for a pair of thicker wire than 22AWG or the hotend will stay too"cold".
I´m not familiar with these AWG sizes, probably some US-reprapper can tell?

22 AWG is perfectly fine for a hot end as it's rated, at least by NEC (National Electric Code), for 7 amps for chassis wiring. If you're drawing 7+ amps for your hot end you have the largest hot end heater I've ever heard of.

oh so whats the downside to using lower gauges on hotends that require 7+ amps? is it not able to reach temps fast enough? or will they not heat up at all? thanks.

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davedavedave
oh so whats the downside to using lower gauges on hotends that require 7+ amps? is it not able to reach temps fast enough? or will they not heat up at all? thanks.

The danger of using a wire that's of too light a gauge is heat. Drawing too much current through too thin a wire will cause the wire to heat up and potentially cause a fire. While 22 AWG might be OK, always err on the side of caution.

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[3DKarma.com] - suppliers of quality, affordable 3D printer kits and filament for the UK market.

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davedavedave
quick question about gauges. so I know there are many different wire gauges but what I want to know is what are the downsides to using a 14 gauge wire on something like a nema17 or cooling fans? so pretty much, are there negatives to using say, 12 or 14 gauge wires on something that doesn't require such a big wire? thanks

Not a whole lot of downsides, particularly if the part is static. For moving parts you're pulling around a bigger, heavier and usually stiffer wire. The main reason for using the smaller wires is cost savings.

so I can safely use 16-18 gauge wires on a cooling fan or motor right? only drawback being that it is stiffer?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2015 08:08PM by davedavedave.

Safe, yes . . . . also brutal overkill . . .

- Tim

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tadawson
Safe, yes . . . . also brutal overkill . . .

- Tim

that's great. I guess ill buy the 18 gauge wires since my motors will all be static. maybe I might have 1 moving motor but it will be just y axis

18 is still like lamp cord . . . . most of the stuff on these motors is 20 or 22, possibly smaller . . .

But correct, larger cant hurt function, just cost, space, and stiffness.

Most 40mm fans only draw about .07 amps, and could almost be run on hair . . .

- Tim