What it is and what it does
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA2163-6HL36-0JC0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) rated for 63 A continuous current at 40 °C, designed for line protection in distribution panels. Its interrupting capacity hits 242 kA at 240 V and 187 kA at 415 V — that means it can safely clear a fault up to those levels without the arc flashing over or taking out upstream gear. The 63 A rating holds flat across the full 40–70 °C ambient range, so no derating headache in a warm enclosure. This MCCB ships with a shunt trip (STL) release and two HQ auxiliary switches built in. The shunt trip lets you remotely trip the breaker from a safety circuit or emergency stop — common on conveyor lines or pump panels where you need a hard-wired kill. The auxiliary switches give status feedback to a PLC or indicator lamp.
Breaking capacity — what the numbers mean for your panel
The 242 kA at 240 V is the maximum short-circuit current this breaker can interrupt at that voltage. At 415 V and 440 V it still handles 187 kA, and at 500 V it's 121 kA. The drop to 3.7 kA at 690 V tells you this is a 240–500 V class breaker — don't spec it for a 690 V distribution bus unless your fault current is under that threshold. For a typical 480 V industrial panel with a transformer-fed bus, 121 kA is plenty of headroom.
Panel fit and dimensions
The breaker measures 105 mm wide, 181 mm tall, and 86 mm deep. That 86 mm depth is the body only — add clearance for the shunt trip wiring and auxiliary switch terminals. It mounts on a DIN rail or directly to a panel backplate via the standard MCCB footprint. The 3-pole body takes up about 4 inches of rail space.