Electrical – wire crimper sizes: mm2 vs AWG

awgcrimpwire

Electrical wire crimpers available on Amazon Canada tend to list die sizes in mm2. This one cross-lists them in AWG, but there are some discrepancies between these sizes and the mm2 equivalent of those AWG sizes.

die size (mm2)  listed AWG     AWG equivalent in mm2
----------------------------------------------------
16              6AWG           13.3
25              4AWG           21.2
35              2AWG           33.6
50              1/0AWG         53.5
70              2/0AWG         67.4
95              3/0AWG         85.0
120             4/0 - 250 MCM  107.2

Why is there such a large discrepancy? Will this tool actually be usable for crimping wire of standard AWG thickness? Other tools listed on Amazon also include this same set of die sizes (or a super- or sub-set).

Best Answer

The reason for the discrepancy is that the AWG equivalent CSA you have found is solid wire. This type of wire carries the maximum current for CSA but also has the maximum bend radius.

A tradeoff between current carrying capability for a lower bend radius is achieved by stranding the wire, i.e. 12AWG (2.1mm sq.) could actually be 37 x 28AWG and the new diameter (due to spacing between the 28AWG strands) is 2.9mm sq.

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/awg-wire-gauge-d_731.html

44 Spec Wire