What it is and what it does
The Siemens 3RT1036-1AK60-ZX95 is a SIRIUS power contactor in the S2 frame size, built for switching motor loads in industrial control panels. Its headline rating is 22 kW at AC-2 duty at 400 V — that is the current it can make and break for slip-ring motor starting, where the load current stays below the inrush peak. For AC-3 direct-on-line squirrel-cage motors, the rating is higher, but the AC-2 figure is the one that governs for wound-rotor or high-inertia starts. Mounting is screw-fixed or snap-on onto a 35 mm standard mounting rail per DIN EN 50022, so it integrates into any standard panel layout without adapter plates. The front face carries an IP20 rating; the terminals themselves are IP00, meaning the wiring compartment expects enclosure protection from the panel.
Thermal and mechanical endurance
Mechanical life is typical 10,000,000 operations — that is the unloaded cycle count before wear-out. Electrical life depends on duty: at AC-1 (resistive loads) it manages 1,000 cycles per hour maximum; at AC-3 (motor running) 800 cycles per hour; at AC-4 (plugging/inching) it drops to 300 cycles per hour. The arcing time is 10 to 15 ms, and the closing time at AC coil supply is 7 to 20 ms. Operating temperature range is -25 to +60 °C, storage from -55 to +80 °C. Pollution degree 3 means it tolerates conductive pollution in industrial atmospheres — typical for a panel-mounted contactor not in a sealed clean room.
Termination and wiring
Main current circuit uses screw-type terminals. Solid conductors accept 2x (0.5 to 1.5 mm²), 2x (0.75 to 2.5 mm²), and max 2x (0.75 to 4 mm²). Stranded conductors go up to 2x (0.75 to 25 mm²) for the main circuit, with a separate solid-or-stranded range of 2x (0.75 to 16 mm²). That covers most panel wiring from control-signal cross-sections up to motor feeder cables.