Difference Between SWG and AWG

SWG vs AWG

Wire size standards are important as it gives an easy to remember numerical chart of commonly used wire sizes. The problem with standards is that they are not compatible with each other. A good example of this is the SWG and AWG standards. The main difference between SWG and AWG is where they originated from. SWG was derived from the British Standard Wire Gauge, dropping the British part eventually. In comparison, AWG stands for the American Wire Gauge and it originates from North America, which is composed of the US and Canada.

When it comes to the actual cable sizes, the two are actually not equivalent in size. In general, an SWG wire would be bigger than an AWG wire of the same gauge. For example, with a gauge value of 1, an SWG wire would have a diameter of 0.3 inches while an AWG wire would have a diameter of 0.2893. This is true throughout the entire chart. This is then reversed when you go up to larger wires, denoted by X/0. Another difference is the number of steps. SWG has 50 steps, resulting in a thinnest wire diameter of 0.001 inches. AWG only has 40 steps and the smallest wire diameter under it is 0.003 inches.

The size of the wire is quite important not only because it adds to the strength of the wire, but because it directly correlates to the amount of current it can carry. If you use a wire that is too small for the current that needs to pass, the wire would eventually heat up and lead to fires.

Although SWG and AWG were once widely used with electrical wires, SWG has gradually fallen out of popularity in favor of the AWG standard. Despite that, SWG is still used in other industries that do not actually deal with electrical wires. An example of this would be guitar wires, which still use the SWG size standards.

Summary:

1.SWG is a British standard while AWG is an American standard
2.SWG wires of the same gauge are bigger than AWG wires
3.AWG is still widely used in electrical wires while not so much SWG