What this part is and what it does
The Siemens SIMATIC 3RK1301-1KB00-0AA2 is a direct motor starter designed for motor control in automation systems. It is part of the SIMATIC brand motor starters family, configured as a direct starter with a CLASS 10 trip characteristic, meaning it will trip within 10 seconds at 600% of the rated motor current — standard for protecting standard induction motors during start-up without nuisance tripping. This unit communicates over PROFINET and PROFIBUS DP protocols, making it suitable for integration into Siemens S7 and other fieldbus-based control architectures. It provides 1 byte of input data and 1 byte of output data for status and control signals. Rated for a 50 kA short-circuit current at 400 V, it can be installed in high-fault-current panels without additional upstream current-limiting fuses in many configurations. The supply voltage is 24 V DC nominal, with a permissible range of 20.4 to 28.8 V DC.
Mounting and integration
The starter mounts by plugging onto a terminal module, not by direct DIN-rail clipping — the terminal module is the mechanical anchor. This means panel layout must account for the terminal module footprint first. The unit measures 45 mm wide, 120 mm deep, and 265 mm tall, so it fits a standard 45 mm slot on a terminal-module rail. Mounting position is flexible — vertical or horizontal — which helps when fitting into tight enclosures. The operating temperature range is 0 to 60 °C, with storage and transport range of -40 to +70 °C. Vibration resistance is 2g; shock resistance is 5g for 11 ms. The main power infeed uses screw-type terminals; control signals are handled via the pluggable connection to the terminal module. No digital inputs or outputs are built into this base unit — those come from a separate control module that plugs on top.
Sourcing and lifecycle
The 3RK1301-1KB00-0AA2 is a direct starter variant. If your application requires reversing, this specific order code does not support it — you would need a different variant. The maximum operating frequency is 750 cycles per hour, so it is suited for moderate-duty cycling, not high-speed indexing. Power dissipation is 4.118 W with bypass circuit active, 4.1184 W without — negligible for panel thermal calculations, but worth noting if you are packing multiple units in a sealed enclosure.