What it is and what it does
The Siemens 3VA1140-6EF32-0HA0 is a SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) designed for line protection — meaning it sits at the feeder or subfeeder level to protect cables and busbars from overloads and short circuits, not a motor-protective device with thermal-bimetal curves tuned for starting inrush. Rated 40 A continuous at 40 °C ambient, it carries the same 40 A rating up through 50 °C, then derates to 39 A at 55 °C and 37 A at 70 °C — so in a warm panel you lose only 3 A at the top of the operating range. Breaking capacity is the headline here: 220 kA at 240 V AC, 154 kA at 415 V, 121 kA at 440 V, and still 17 kA at 690 V. That 220 kA figure at 240 V means it can interrupt a fault current of that magnitude without rupturing — essential for high-fault locations like a transformer secondary or a large distribution board.
Shunt trip and release design
This variant includes a shunt trip (STL) auxiliary release, allowing remote tripping via a control voltage — useful for emergency-stop circuits or remote load shedding. The overcurrent release is a TM240 thermal-magnetic unit, so it combines a thermal bimetal for overload protection with a magnetic coil for short-circuit response. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, giving headroom for 690 V systems. Power loss at rated current is 10.8 W — a manageable figure for enclosure thermal calculations. The 3-pole design fits standard 3-phase distribution; no undervoltage release, no ground-fault monitoring, no communication function on this order code — it's a straightforward line-protection breaker with remote trip capability.
Dimensions and panel fit
At 130 mm height, 76.2 mm width, and 70 mm depth, it occupies a compact footprint for a 40 A MCCB with 220 kA interrupting rating. The 76.2 mm width is standard for a 3-pole SENTRON 3VA frame — it clips onto a DIN rail or mounts with screws, so it drops into existing SENTRON distribution panels without re-drilling.
Lifecycle and sourcing reality
Sourced and quoted to order against an RFQ through independent distribution; availability and current pricing are confirmed at quote time. For a BOM freeze or a line-down replacement, this is a standard-catalog part you can specify without worrying about a last-time-buy window.