[mrendu43]

hello.

Is anyone knows if its UTP CAT6 good for stepper motor wiering to driver?

[cholder]

I would not use it. First, unless I am mistaken it is solid core which is not good for any thing with vibration. Second, it is only 23 awg which could only be used for very low amerage and finally the wire to wire insulation rating may not up to the level that your stepper drive may produce. Just my 2c

[mrendu43]

what cable to use then?

[afh]

awg -> current table is here American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits with skin depth frequencies

"Maximum amps for chassis wiring" is meant for wiring in air, not in bundles, that's
why it's ampere is so high.

23 awg can withstand 0.729A in power. Using 2x23Awg doubles it capacity:
2x23AWG = 17AWG, can withstand 2.9A
2x0.57404mm = 1.14808 mm, around 17AWG who is 1.15062 mm thick

Let's take 2.8A just to be extremely safe!

A Cat6 wire has eight 23 AWG wires. (I recommend with shielding to keep EMC/noises down)

if your stepper motor are driven by PMW in 1.5 A , it would be alright with 1x23AWG, but I would'nt recommend that for a longer term usage. Keep the cable short!

(PWM have lower average current than DC, so one may use a 2A stepper motor...)

Solid core may be a problem. Or maybe not. So please take care of curves and movement of the cable. There is reasons why industry applications never uses solidcores cables.

A stepper motor or servo motor usually drives with PWM, so it generates a lot of noise and it is senstive for noises. it may not be a problem, or it may be a problem.

Rules I like to follow:
* Shortest possible cables
* Shielding is better than none.
* Flexible and supple.
* Sometimes a stiff cable is better than a flexible cable.
* Good isolation
* Size. Larger are usually better. More are usually better.
* Voltage drops. How much can you accept? Do you accept waste of energy?

Please note that the voltage drop is a ugly fix/consequences for a thin cable, but acceptable enoght if you're on a budget, it's only 1-2V on few meters.

CAT6 fills most of my demands, mostly because it's cheap, but I am ready to
buy a high quality industry automation's cable if I have to.

Bottom line:
CAT6 is a fine wire, but has it limits. If you want a safe machine and getting good and consistent result, keep the wire size according to the table I linked to.

[mrendu43]

thanks a lot for the informations

[cflas]

I have being using lan cable with 32V dc power supply and 270 steppers frame 23 with out issues. As long as they work for me I will keep using them as they are easy to find and look really good on home made machine. But I would not recommend for high voltage and current applications.

[cristiantutuian]

Hey mate
i use regular phone cable 2 pairs (4 wire)
power 24v stepper motor sanyo denki japan 1.8 Am
NO ANY PROBLEM
Connection made with DB 9 work good the cable have 3 meter long something like 9.84 foot

[doblec]

I am using CAT6 UTP cable for my CNC machine since 2 years ago, it had shielded cable and have a lot of problem with noise I dont know why, but after that cable broke because movement I changed to CAT6 and no more problems, dont know why...

Claudio,

[doblec]

Good info Thanks,