What this frame is — and what it isn't
The Schneider Electric C250N4FM is a basic frame from the ComPacT NS1600b…3200 new generation family — a 4-pole, 2500 A frame rated at 50 °C, fixed-mounted on a backplate, and manually operated. It's a distribution breaker frame built to IEC 60947-2, and it ships without a protection control unit. That means you're buying the mechanical shell and the arc chamber; the trip unit — electronic or Micrologic — is ordered separately and plugs in on site. If you're specifying a switch-disconnector or a bare frame for a custom panel, this is the starting point.
Breaking capacity — what the N code means for your fault level
That's the ultimate breaking capacity — the frame can safely interrupt one fault at that level and still be usable afterward. For a 2500 A distribution main in a plant with a transformer upstream that can deliver 50–70 kA of fault current, this N frame gives you the headroom to coordinate downstream breakers without cascading failures.
Mechanical durability is 5000 cycles per IEC 60947-2 — that's the number of open-close operations the mechanism is rated for before overhaul. The frame is certified for isolation (EN/IEC 60947-2), meaning it can be locked open and used as a visible-break disconnect for safe maintenance. Rated impulse withstand voltage is 8 kV, and the short-time withstand current is 32 kA for 3 seconds — enough to ride through a delayed trip downstream without the main welding shut.
Environmental range
Operating temperature -25 to 70 °C; storage -50 to 85 °C. Overvoltage category III (fixed installation, not downstream of a transformer). The IK07 impact rating means it survives a 2 J hammer blow on the front face — a dropped wrench in the panel won't crack the housing.