What it is and what it does
The Siemens 3VA2163-5MN36-0CL0 is a SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) designed specifically for motor protection, with phase failure detection built in. Rated 63 A continuously across the full 40 °C to 70 °C ambient range — no derating needed up to that ceiling — it handles the sustained current of a motor branch circuit without nuisance tripping. Breaking capacity is where this unit separates itself: 187 kA at 240 V, 121 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 75.6 kA at 500 V, and 3.7 kA at 690 V. Those numbers mean it can safely interrupt a fault at the full available short-circuit current of most industrial distribution panels — no need for a current-limiting upstream device in high-fault environments.
Motor protection and auxiliary configuration
This MCCB ships with the basic switch 3VA21635MN360AA0 and comes factory-fitted with an undervoltage release (UVR) and an auxiliary switch block: 2 auxiliary switches + 1 trip alarm switch + 1 electrical alarm switch HQ. The UVR drops the breaker on loss of control voltage — standard for motor starters that need to prevent auto-restart after a power dip. The trip indicator is present, and there is no voltage-trigger function or communication module on this variant. Ground-fault monitoring is not included — this is a straight motor-protection MCCB, not a GFCI device.
Panel fit and environment
Dimensions are 181 mm high, 105 mm wide, 86 mm deep — a standard SENTRON 3VA frame size that mounts on a DIN rail or directly to a backplate. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C, storage from -40 °C to 80 °C. Maximum power loss is 6.5 W, so panel thermal calculations are straightforward.