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According to The Circuit Calculator my 18 amp traces on 4 oz copper need to be about 160 mils. Only problem is I don't have room for this.

I've seen boards use raised bus bar and also solder bus bar directly to the trace to increase current capability. Has anyone tried this? Is there any major issues with doing something like this? Also what type of metal should I use for the bus bar??

embedded.kyle
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alxcpa01101
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  • copper for the bus bar or silver if you can afford it. I've done it before on poor circuit layouts to stop oscillations but it's not in the top-draw fixes. – Andy aka Mar 29 '13 at 16:37
  • This question has essentially been asked several times before. Here's one example: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/18874/how-to-carry-high-current-on-pcb/ – The Photon Mar 29 '13 at 16:48
  • Another one: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/59735/creating-a-high-current-bus-on-a-pcb?rq=1 – The Photon Mar 29 '13 at 16:49
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    Just give the traces compliments and encouragement. – justing Mar 29 '13 at 17:22
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    ...and adequate clearance from combustible material. – The Photon Mar 29 '13 at 17:35

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I've soldered thick copper wire onto tracks before now, to increase the current capability. It worked very well.

Leon Heller
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