The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1040-3ED36-0HC0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated for 40 A continuous current at up to 50 °C ambient, with the thermal-magnetic TM210 release for line protection. It delivers 75.6 kA interrupting capacity at 240 V, 52.5 kA at 415 V, and 32 kA at 440 V — numbers that tell you it can handle high-fault downstream of a transformer or a large motor branch without upstream coordination headaches.
Thermal derating and what it means on a hot panel
Above that it starts to taper: 38.4 A at 55 °C, 37.6 A at 60 °C, 36.8 A at 65 °C, and 36 A at 70 °C. If your panel runs warm — say next to a drive cabinet or a transformer — you lose about 4 A at the high end. That's not a showstopper for most motor circuits, but if you're right at the limit on a continuous resistive load, factor it in.
Auxiliaries and releases on this variant
The shunt trip is the integrated design with order code 3VA9688-0BL30 — it's a factory-fit accessory, not a field-add kit, so verify your BOM includes that if you need remote trip capability. There is no undervoltage release, no ground fault monitoring, no communication module, and no phase failure detection. The TM210 release is thermal-magnetic, fixed-trip, no electronic adjustment — set it and forget it.
Panel fit and IP rating
The 130 mm height, 76.2 mm width, and 70 mm depth match the 3VA1xxx family footprint, so it drops into existing SENTRON mounting plates and busbar systems without modification.
Endurance and mechanical life
That's the mechanical life before the latching mechanism is expected to wear out. For a line-protection breaker that sees maybe a few operations a year, that's effectively lifetime. For frequent switching applications — like a motor disconnect cycled daily — you'd want a contactor ahead of it.