The Schneider Electric VW3A46160 is a passive filter that sits between the line supply and an Altivar variable speed drive to knock down current harmonics. It's sized for a 7.5 kW / 10 hp motor load and takes one filter per drive — no sharing across multiple units. Rated 14 A on the input side and 14.5 A on the output, it runs on a 480 V +/- 10 % three-phase supply at 60 Hz. The filter's job is to bring total harmonic current distortion (THDI) down to 5-10 %, depending on which Altivar drive it's paired with. For ATV61H, ATV71H, ATV71P, and ATV71W drives at 7.5 kW, it holds THDI to 10 %. For ATV61W, ATV630, ATV650, ATV930, and ATV950 drives at the same power, it drops THDI further to 5 %. That's the difference between a line that meets IEC 61000-2-4 and one that doesn't — critical for plants with sensitive equipment on the same bus or utility-imposed harmonic limits.
Efficiency sits at 98 %, meaning only 2 % of the power passing through is lost as heat. That 184 W of thermal loss has to be ventilated — in an IP20 panel mount, make sure the enclosure has enough airflow or forced cooling. The filter carries an IP20 rating as a standalone component and IP55 when mounted inside an enclosure, so it's fine for clean control rooms but needs a sealed cabinet for washdown areas. The power factor (cos phi) varies with load: 1.0 at 150 % of line current, 0.99 at 100 %, and 0.85 at 75 %. That means at light load the filter doesn't fully correct the displacement power factor — expect a slightly lagging PF when the drive is running below its rated current. Not a problem for most installations, but worth noting if the utility charges a PF penalty. Above that, up to 60 °C, derate current by 3 % per °C. Altitude derating kicks in above 1000 m at 5 % per 1000 m. If the filter is going into a hot mezzanine or a high-altitude plant in the Andes, factor those deratings into the load calculation.
The VW3A46160 complies with IEC 61000-2-4, IEC 61000-3-4, IEC 61000-3-12, and the UK G5/4 engineering recommendation for harmonic emissions. It also meets IEC 61000-2-2 and IEC 61000-3-2. That's the full suite of European harmonic standards — the filter is designed to keep the drive installation within the limits that utilities and site power-quality specs demand. This is a current catalog item, not a phase-out part.
Electrical connection is via screw terminals accepting 0.5 to 10 mm² wire on the main power terminals (X1-1 through X2-3) and 2.5 mm² on the auxiliary A/B terminals. Vibration resistance per IEC 60068-2-6: 2 mm peak-to-peak at 5-13.2 Hz, 0.7 gn at 13.2-150 Hz. That's standard for industrial panel mounting — no special isolation needed unless the drive is on a high-vibration machine base.