The VW3AP3618 is a CANopen / CANmotion communication module for the Altivar drive family, terminated through a single male SUB-D 9 connector. It is the fieldbus interface that puts an Altivar variable-speed drive on a CANopen or CANmotion network — no gateway, no protocol conversion, just the native CAN frame on the bus. One constraint up front: this module cannot be ordered alone. The manufacturer lists it as usable only in combination with a standard enclosure — meaning it ships as part of a drive package or enclosure assembly, not as a standalone line item. If your BOM calls out VW3AP3618 as a separate purchase, confirm the enclosure arrangement before committing the line.
What the connector and protocol mean for integration
The SUB-D 9 male connector is the standard CANopen physical layer — same pinout as a CiA 301-compliant node. That means it plugs directly into a CAN bus cable assembly without an adapter. The module speaks both CANopen (DS 301 device profile) and CANmotion (Schneider's motion bus extension), so it covers both standard drive control and coordinated multi-axis moves on the same hardware. Because the module lives inside the drive's enclosure, the SUB-D connector is panel-side accessible through a cutout. No DIN-rail mounting, no separate power feed — the module draws its supply from the drive backplane. Commissioning is a matter of setting the node ID and baud rate on the drive's parameter menu, then terminating the bus cable.