What this MCCB carries and where it fits
The Siemens 3VA2163-7MN36-0JL0 is a SENTRON molded case circuit breaker built for motor protection duty — the product version is explicitly motor protection, not a plain feeder breaker, so the ETU350M electronic trip unit includes phase failure detection and a voltage trigger for coordinated motor branch protection. Rated continuous current Iu is 63 A, and it holds that rating from 40 °C up to 50 °C; above that it derates to 60.48 A at 55 °C and 56.7 A at 70 °C, so a warm panel or high-ambient motor center needs a check against the thermal curve before committing the BOM line. Breaking capacity is voltage-dependent: 330 kA at 240 V, 242 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 187 kA at 500 V, and 52.5 kA at 690 V — that covers most industrial distribution voltages across North America and Europe, and the 690 V figure matters for wind or mining applications where the line-to-line voltage is higher.
Panel fit and auxiliaries
Three-pole, 105 mm wide, 181 mm tall, 86 mm deep — it occupies a standard SENTRON 3VA mounting footprint, so it swaps into an existing 3VA panel cutout without re-drilling the gland plate. Comes with a shunt trip release (STL) for remote tripping, plus a full auxiliary contact block: 2 auxiliary switches, 1 trip alarm switch, and 1 electrical alarm switch HQ — enough feedback for a PLC-based motor control center to know the breaker state and trip cause without extra add-on modules. Rated insulation voltage Ui is 800 V, and the maximum power loss is 75 W — account for that heat in a sealed enclosure when calculating internal temperature rise.
Lifecycle and sourcing reality
Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C — fine for unheated warehouses in northern climates as long as the breaker is not energized below -25 °C. Mechanical endurance is rated at 20 000 cycles — typical for a motor-protection MCCB in a panel that sees a few operations per shift; not a high-cycle application breaker.