Hello, my team and I have been wondering about wire gauges for different motors.
What we are wanting to do is run 14 gauge wire to two BAG motors and a snowblower motor instead of 12 gauge. My teammate and I have looked everywhere we can, but all that we have been able to come up with is wiring to protected circuits. (Pg 91 on the FIRST Manual)
We have been bitten in the past for a similar problem involving CIM Motors so we want to be extra careful this time around.
The motor doesn’t influence the wire size, just the size of circuit breaker. You can use 14 AWG for any motor, but only if it’s protected by a 30 amp (or lower) circuit breaker. This means the wires will go into one of the smaller WAGO slots on the PDP.
It’s also worth noting that if a motor comes with a gauge higher than what’s needed (e.g. a CIM that comes with 14AWG wire), it’s exempt from this rule.
Please make sure teams know what wire are being used on robot. While inspecting a robot, I asked what wiring was used and they handed me a 14 guage spool for wiring with 40awg fuses. After a good 10 minute conversation with team on what needed to be done to correct, another team member commented i was given the wrong spool. they pulked out a 12 guage spool, stating that was what was used for the CIM motors and 40awg fuses. it was tough to tell the difference but eventually figured it out.