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How to Convert Metric to Wire Gauge

The gauge of a wire describes its thickness, although a variety of specific wire gauge systems exist. Many people outside the United States use the metric wire gauge system, while people in the United States typically use the American Wire Gauge, or AWG system. You may frequently need to convert the gauge of a wire from the metric to the AWG system if you use wire from other countries. This conversion requires you to perform logarithmic functions.

Scientific calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Select a metric wire gauge to convert to the AWG system. Assume for this example that the wire has a metric wire gauge of 50.
- 2
  Divide the metric wire gauge by 10 to obtain its diameter in millimeters. The wire in this example therefore has a diameter of 50 / 10 = 5 mm.
- 3
  Use the following formula to convert the diameter of a wire in millimeters to its gauge in the AWS system: N = [(-39) x log10 (D / 0.127) / log10 (92)] + 36. "N" is the gauge of the wire in the AWG system, and "D" is the diameter of the wire in millimeters.
- 4
  Convert the wire's diameter to the AWG system. The wire in this example has a diameter of 5 mm, so it has an AWG gauge of [(-39) x log10 (5 / 0.127) / log10 (92)] + 36 = 4.32. A wire with a diameter of 5 mm is about 4-gauge wire in the AWG system.
- 5
  Adjust the gauge of the wire if step 4 provides a negative result. A result of -1 in step 4 corresponds to 00 AWG. A result of -2 is 000 AWG, a result of -3 is 0000 AWG and so on.

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