It carries a 110 V DC coil with spring-type terminals — no screwdriver needed for the coil wiring, which speeds up panel assembly and reduces the chance of a loose connection out here in the grease. Rated 96 A at 480 V and 77 A at 600 V, this contactor handles the kind of motor currents you see on pumps, conveyors, and fans in a typical plant. The DC coil pulls 1.5 A inrush peak and holds steady — no hum, no chatter on a 110 V DC bus. That gives you room to fit it into tight enclosures where the rail orientation isn't perfectly square.
The 96 A at 480 V rating tells you the main contacts can carry that motor current continuously in AC-3 duty (starting and stopping squirrel-cage motors). The 77 A at 600 V figure is the same story for 600 V class systems — common in North American plants. If you're switching at 400 V, the rated current is 3 A for the auxiliary contacts, but the main contacts are sized for the motor load, not the control circuit. Dimensions are 140 mm high, 70 mm wide, and 152 mm deep. The 70 mm width is the footprint on the DIN rail — it takes up two standard 35 mm module spaces. The 152 mm depth means you need that much clearance behind the panel door for the arc chamber and terminals.
Integration into an existing panel
If you're replacing a contactor in a panel that was built around a different SIRIUS Size S3 unit, the 3RT2046-3XF40-0LA2 drops in on the same 35 mm DIN rail footprint. The 70 mm width and 152 mm depth match the standard S3 envelope. The spring-type terminals on the coil mean you don't need to torque screw terminals — just strip the wire 8-10 mm and push it in. The auxiliary switch is present on this unit, so you've got a built-in feedback contact for the PLC or status lamp.