The Schneider VW3AE0636 is a motor choke designed for Altivar floor-standing enclosures with separate air flows — specifically the Altivar 71 Plus, Altivar 61 Plus, Altivar 71 Plus-LH, and Altivar 61 Plus-LH ranges. It sits in the protection accessories category, acting as a line-side inductive element to limit voltage spikes and reduce motor bearing currents from VFD reflected-wave effects. If you are maintaining or retrofitting one of these larger Altivar cabinets, this is the factory-specified output choke.
Lifecycle reality
Schneider lists the VW3AE0636 as obsolete. No direct successor order code appears in the official record.
What it does in the cabinet
A motor choke on the output of a VFD does two things: it slows the rise time of the PWM voltage pulses reaching the motor windings, and it attenuates common-mode currents that would otherwise travel through the motor bearings. On the Altivar 71 Plus and 61 Plus floor-standing cabinets — the ones with separate air-flow compartments — the VW3AE0636 mounts inside the enclosure, wired between the drive output terminals and the motor cable. It is sized for the drive's rated current, so matching the choke to the existing drive kW rating is the fit check.