kcmil or MCM are considered bigger wires (bigger than AWG wires). We generally use these thick wires when we need more than 200 amp service. Which kcmil wire exactly we need for carrying high currents is determined by the kcmil wire size chart (check the chart further on). Example: What is the ampacity of 400 kcmil copper wire?

Logical AWG numbers are based on continuing the series in a logarithmic relationship to the cross sectional area of the wire.

In many NEC publications and uses, large wires may be expressed in thousands of circular mils, which is abbreviated in two different ways: kcmil[1] or MCM. [2] .

kcmil (or MCM; it’s the same) stands for thousands of circular mils. These are the big wires that carry more than 200 amps. You have 250 kcmil, 300 kcmil, 350 kcmil, 400 kcmil wires all the way to the biggest 2000 kcmil wire. AWG stands for American Wire Gauge. These are standard wires we use in everyday life for below 200 amp service.

Aug 4, 2015 · Both MCM and kcmil mean 1,000 circular mils, which is a unit used to measure the area of the circular cross section of a wire. The terms MCM and kcmil are used interchangeably by the National Electric Code to describe wires that are larger than 0000 American wire gauge.

Sep 16, 2023 · MCM and Kcmil actually refer to the same measurement. MCM stands for 'thousand circular mils, Kcmil stands for 'kilo circular mils.' Both measurements are used to quantify the cross-sectional area of electrical conductors. For reference: 1 MCM = 1 Kcmil = 0.5067 square millimeters.

1 kcmil is equal to 0.5067 mm2. When you know how many mm2 is kcmil, you can easily convert any kcmil to mm2. Example: 400 kcmil is equal to how many mm2? Simple calculation: 400 kcmil × 0.5067 mm2/kcmil = 202.68 mm2. This is the easiest way to convert kcmil to mm2. To help you out, we have also prepared these useful resources:

Abbreviated kcmil or MCM. 1 Thousand circular mils ≈ 5.067 074 790 97 x 10 -7 cubic meters (SI base unit). 1 kcmil ≈ 0.000 000 506 707 479 097 m 3. A square inch is an area with sides measuring one inch by one inch. One square inch (in 2) is 6.4516 square centimeters (cm 2).

To calculate the values, just select or enter the AWG/SWG size and hit the “Calculate” button to get the result of different properties of SWG/AWG cables and wires such as diameter in millimeter “mm” and inches “in”, cross-sectional area in square millimeter “mm2“, square inches “in2” and kilo Circular Mils “kcmil or MCM”. Related Calculators:

Feb 23, 2025 · Answer: 500 kcmil copper and aluminum wires differ in conductivity, weight, cost, and applications. Copper offers higher ampacity (380-420A) and durability but costs 3-4x more. Aluminum is lighter, cheaper, and used in utility/power grids.