Wire colors & general wire selection

[BillB]

Hey guys regarding wiring schematic S14955.DWG V3 It does not call out wire colors for 24VDC or Commom wire.

I'm using red for 24Vdc and black for com, is this good?

I have a bunch of cords cut off of junked electrical items I've collected over the years. I have a cord that came off of a vacume cleaner that is 2 wire 18 gauge, has a braided hemp strands inside for strength, IS this wire ok to use for my E-Stop? I wanted to use something nice and heavy duty. I'm only using this cord from my termal block out to the switch.

I also have a bunch of low voltage 2 wire outdoor undergroung lighting wire it's pretty heavy gauge I think it's 16 Ga the twisted strand is .065 di would this be suitable for my limit switches? Again wanting something heavy duty.

[Richards]

Color is mostly your choice on a DIY controller. Make a drawing or chart that shows what each wire does, where it starts and where it ends. I reserve the colors, Black, White, and Green/Yellow for AC, but that's just my personal preference.

The wire's gauge depends on how much current it must carry. 30A requires 10 gauge. 20A requires 12 gauge. 15A requires 14 gauge. 10A requires 16 gauge. Some builders use 18 gauge for low voltage/low current signal wires. I use 20 gauge because it is small enough in diameter to fit into the small terminals on some of my PLCs. I've been buying my wire from AutomationDirect.com for about a year. They have a large variety of colors and gauges at a very reasonable cost. A 500 foot spool of wire from them costs less than two 100 foot spools from a local supplier.

Limit switches normally carry only 10mA to 20mA of current, so wire as small as 26 gauge can easily handle that small current.

E-Stop switches may need to carry much more current depending on how they are wired. If you only use an E-Stop to connect directly to an Acorn Input, then small wire is fine; however, if you use the E-Stop to cut off AC power, then the wire must be heavy enough to carry the full AC load. Usually, I wire the E-Stop to control a master contactor's coil. The master contactor's contacts are wired to shut down the 24VDC power supply that controls the Acorn. In my mind, if there is a reason to punch the E-Stop, then I want everything to stop immediately.

[ShawnM]

As stated color choice is really up to you. It's good practice to label and document with your own diagram what you are doing. Luckily Centroid posts BOTH a PDF and a CAD drawing of each wiring diagram. I simply take the closest diagram for the current project, in your case S14955, and edit the DWG file to match what I'm doing. Makes trouble shooting very easy down the road.

As for your wire choice, in my opinion the 2 wire low voltage wire you have is a poor choice for limit switches. It's large, bulky and stiff (and all black). Limit switch wiring should be in the 24 gauge range. No need for "heavy duty" wire for limit switches. 16 gauge and larger wire is reserved for spindles and motors. You'll need shielded wire in many places so be prepared to buy some if you don't have any. My opinion is that wire choice/type can have a real affect on performance and noise in a system. Not a place where you want to cut corners.

[BillB]

As stated color choice is really up to you. It's good practice to label and document with your own diagram what you are doing. Luckily Centroid posts BOTH a PDF and a CAD drawing of each wiring diagram. I simply take the closest diagram for the current project, in your case S14955, and edit the DWG file to match what I'm doing. Makes trouble shooting very easy down the road.

As for your wire choice, in my opinion the 2 wire low voltage wire you have is a poor choice for limit switches. It's large, bulky and stiff (and all black). Limit switch wiring should be in the 24 gauge range. No need for "heavy duty" wire for limit switches. 16 gauge and larger wire is reserved for spindles and motors. You'll need shielded wire in many places so be prepared to buy some if you don't have any. My opinion is that wire choice/type can have a real affect on performance and noise in a system. Not a place where you want to cut corners.

Ok good input guys I appreciate it. Was going to look for DWGs good to know they are available. Thanks