What it is and what it does
The Siemens 3RT2036-3AV00 is a SIRIUS Size S2 power contactor, built for switching motor loads in industrial control panels. Its headline rating is 52 A at 480 V in AC-3 duty — that's the motor-switching current it handles without welding the main contacts, so it's sized for a motor pulling that full-load current on a 480 V line. The coil is 24 VDC rated at 10 A holding current, and the auxiliary switch is built in — no separate add-on needed for basic feedback. Spring-type terminals on the magnet coil mean no screwdriver for the control wiring; strip, push, done.
Mounting and integration
Mounts via screw or snap-on onto 35 mm DIN rail per DIN EN 60715. The body is 55 mm wide, 114 mm tall, 130 mm deep — that's a standard S2 footprint, so it fits the same DIN space as any other S2 contactor. Clearance: 10 mm upwards, forwards, and downwards; 6 mm at the sides. Mounting position is flexible — ±180° rotation on a vertical surface, and can be tilted forward/backward ±22.5°. Operating temperature range is -25 to +60 °C, storage from -55 to +80 °C. That covers most indoor panel environments, including unheated warehouses in winter.
Switching performance and mechanical life
Rated for 10 million mechanical operations typical. Switching frequency varies by duty: 1000 cycles/hour at AC-1 (resistive), 800 at AC-3 (motor start/run), 600 at AC-2 (slip-ring motors), and 250 at AC-4 (plugging/inching). The arcing time is 10 to 20 ms; the closing time on AC coil is 10 to 18 ms. That's fast enough for most sequencing but not a high-speed transfer switch. Main contact configuration is 3-pole normally open (3 NO), with one auxiliary contact (1 NO). That's the standard three-phase motor contactor layout.