What this filter does on the line side
The Schneider Electric VW3A46112 is a passive harmonic filter sized for Altivar variable-speed drives running 75 kW to 90 kW motors on a 400 V, 50 Hz three-phase supply. Its job is to bring current harmonics below the limits set by IEC 61000-3-12 and IEC 61000-2-4, so the drive installation passes the site's power-quality requirements without an active front end or a multi-pulse transformer. Rated 144 A on the input side and 150 A on the output side, the filter handles the full motor current plus the harmonic circulating component. One filter per drive is specified — no sharing across multiple drives — and the pairing is matched to the motor power rating in the Altivar family: ATV61H, ATV61W, ATV71H, ATV71W, ATV71Q, ATV630, ATV650, ATV930, and ATV950 drives at 75 kW or 90 kW.
With this filter in place, the drive's total harmonic current distortion (THDI) drops to 10 % for the 90 kW motor ratings across the ATV61H, ATV71H, ATV71Q, and ATV61W/ATV71W 90 kW variants. For the 75 kW motor ratings on the same drive families, THDI is either 10 % or 16 % depending on the specific drive model — the ATV61H 75 kW and ATV71H 75 kW show 16 %, while the ATV630, ATV650, ATV930, and ATV950 75 kW variants achieve 10 %. That 10 % figure is well under the typical 30–40 % THDI of a six-pulse drive running without a filter, which means the installation avoids nuisance tripping of upstream protection and meets the G5/4 engineering recommendation for grid connection. Power factor correction is built into the filter's design. At full load the displacement power factor (cos phi) measures 0.99 at 100 % line current, rising to 1.0 at 150 % overload current, and dropping to 0.85 at light load (75 % current). The filter's own efficiency is 98 %, so the 692 W thermal loss at rated load is dissipated through the IP20 enclosure — plan for panel ventilation if the filter is cabinet-mounted.
The filter carries an IP20 rating as standard, suitable for clean indoor panel environments. An IP55 rating is available when the enclosure mounting option is used — that covers washdown areas or dusty plant-floor locations. Operating temperature range is 5 °C to 45 °C without derating; above 45 °C up to 60 °C, derate the current by 3 % per °C. Storage temperature in original packaging is -25 °C to 55 °C, and transport tolerance extends to 65 °C. Altitude derating kicks in above 1000 m: reduce the rated current by 5 % per additional 1000 m up to 4000 m. Vibration resistance per IEC 60068-2-6 is 2 mm peak-to-peak from 5 to 13.2 Hz, and 0.7 gn from 13.2 to 150 Hz — typical for floor-mounted industrial cabinets. Electrical connections use A/B terminals accepting up to 2.5 mm² for the control wiring, and X1-1 through X2-3 terminals accepting 2.5 to 90 mm² for the power circuit.
Because this is a drive-specific accessory matched to the motor kW rating, verify the drive model and motor power against the compatibility table before ordering. One filter per drive is the rule — a single VW3A46112 cannot serve multiple drives on a common DC bus or shared line.