DEFINITION
American Wire Gauge (AWG)
What is American Wire Gauge (AWG)?
American Wire Gauge OR AWG is how North Americans refer to their wire sizes. With AWG, the larger the number of strands, the smaller the wire thickness. The smallest standard size is 40 AWG (or 0.0787mm) and the largest is 0000 AWG (or 11.684mm). AWG may also be called Brown & Sharpe wire gauge or the gauge of the wire.
What is Brown & Sharp Wire Gauge?
A wire produced by Brown & Sharp the world's largest manufacturer of machine tools since 1900. Based in Providence, Rhode Island which is approximately 3 hours north of New York.
Are Brown & Sharp and AWG the same?
Yes, as far back as 1855 Brown and Sharp adopted a standard size difference in wires, by 1870 America had become the world leader in metalworking with Brown and Sharp standards becoming the standard across the North American continent.
Does AWG include the size of the insulation protecting the wire?
No AWG is the size of the individual wire strand only.
