Chapter 2 General Information
Output Connections
34
Output Connections
Warning Before attempting to connect wires to the rear output terminals, make sure to turn
off the power supply first to avoid damage to the circuits being connected.
Front panel binding posts are available to connect load wires for bench
operation and are paralleled with the rear panel (+) and (-) connections. Both
front and rear panel terminals are optimized for noise, regulation, and transient
response as documented in chapter 8.
Available connections on the rear output terminals include the (+) and (-)
output, the (+) and (-) sense terminals, and an earth ground terminal. The rear
output terminals accept wire sizes from AWG 24 to AWG 14.
Note: For the E3644A/45A models, when making load connections from the
rear output terminals, four load wires should be used to keep good CV load
regulation if carrying full-rated current of the power supply.
Current Ratings
The following table lists the characteristics of AWG (American Wire Gage)
copper wire.
Table 2-1 Wire Rating
Warning To satisfy safety requirements, load wires must be heavy enough not to overheat when
carrying the maximum short-circuit output current of the power supply. If there is
more than one load, then any pair of load wires must be capable of safety carrying
the full-rated current of the power supply.
AWG 10 121416182022242628
Suggested maximum
Current(amps)*
40 25 20 13 10 7 5 3.5 2.5 1.7
m
W/ft 1.00 1.59 2.53 4.02 6.39 10.2 16.1 25.7 40.8 64.9
m
W/m 3.3 5.2 8.3 13.2 21.0 33.5 52.8 84.3 133.9 212.9
*Single conductor in free air at 30
°C with insulation
