What this MCCB is and what it protects
The Siemens 3VA1196-6ED36-0AA0 is a 3-pole SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) designed for line protection — meaning it guards the feeder or distribution cable against overload and short-circuit, not a specific motor or load. It carries a TM210 thermal-magnetic overcurrent release, so the thermal element handles sustained overloads and the magnetic element clears high faults fast. Rated 16 A continuous at 40 °C (derates to 15 A at 60 °C and above), this breaker is sized for a 16 A branch circuit in a 400 V or 480 V distribution panel. The interrupting capacity is the headline number here: 220 kA at 240 V AC, 154 kA at 415 V, 121 kA at 440 V, and still 17 kA at 690 V. Those are very high values — this breaker can safely clear a fault on a high-capacity transformer secondary without needing a current-limiting fuse upstream. For a 480 V panel fed by a 1500 kVA transformer, the available fault current can exceed 65 kA; this MCCB handles that with headroom.
Integration and panel fit
The breaker measures 76.2 mm wide, 130 mm tall, and 70 mm deep — a standard 3-pole MCCB footprint that fits most Siemens SENTRON 3VA panelboards and third-party enclosures with a 3 x 25 mm busbar pitch. Front IP40 protection means it's suitable for dry indoor panels; no washdown rating, so keep it out of wet areas. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, so it can be used in 690 V systems (where it still interrupts 17 kA). Maximum power loss at rated current is 10.6 W — negligible for thermal management in a standard enclosure, but worth noting if you're packing many breakers in a sealed cabinet.
What the TM210 release means for coordination
The TM210 designation indicates a fixed thermal-magnetic release with a 10x magnetic trip multiplier (the magnetic pickup is at 10 times the rated current, or 160 A for this 16 A frame). That gives good selectivity with downstream miniature circuit breakers rated up to about 16 A — the MCCB will hold during a fault on a branch MCB, letting the downstream device clear the fault first. For an electrical engineer doing a coordination study, this is the key parameter that determines whether the breaker cascades or selectively coordinates. No undervoltage release, shunt trip, or communication module on this variant.