Welding Wire Size Guide

If you have the specifications readily available you can simply choose the appropriate wire with your specs from the welding cable size chart.

Welding wire size guide.

Multi pass welding or a beveled joint design may be required on material thickness 3 16 and greater depending on your welding machine s amperage capability. Figure 1 lists the awg sizes. In the metric system welding cable size is typically expressed in square millimeters mm2 representing the cross sectional area of the cable. If your wire is solid the code states that there is a 0 001 tolerance range for 0 045 wire.

You can select for a certain type of wire. The american welding society aws code 5 18 allows some flexibility on the contact tip. Double click on chart to view quick guide for selecting mig wire size and welder amperage for your application. Check with your machine manufacturer for any information that may pertain to your welding system.

Figure 2 shows a comparison between welding cables in awg sizes and metric sizes. Gauge or gage sizes larger than one are zero also expressed as 1 0 pronounced one aught two zeros expressed as 2 0 pronounced two aught 3 0 and 4 0. Electrical cable is typically categorized by an awg american wire gauge size where the smaller diameter cable has a larger number. Fully annealed stranded bare copper per astm b 172.

Cable sizes between 4 and 4 0 are typically used for welding cable.