What this MCCB is and what it does
The Siemens 3VA2163-7MS36-0AE0 is a SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) designed specifically for starter protection — meaning it's built to sit ahead of a motor starter and handle the high inrush and overload profile of motor circuits, not just general distribution. It's a 3-pole unit rated 63 A continuous at 40 °C through 70 °C, so no derating headache as the panel warms up. The interrupting ratings are the headline: 330 kA at 240 V, 242 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 187 kA at 500 V, and 3.7 kA at 690 V. That 330 kA at 240 V tells you it can clear a massive fault upstream — think transformer secondary or a high-capacity bus — without the breaker itself failing. The minimum trip threshold is 189 A, so it's not for light loads; this is a heavy iron breaker.
Panel fit and integration
The 3VA2163-7MS36-0AE0 measures 105 mm wide, 181 mm tall, and 86 mm deep — a standard SENTRON 3VA frame size that drops into a DIN-rail or panel-mount footprint. It ships with 4 HQ auxiliary switches built in, so you get status feedback without adding external blocks. The supplied basic switch is order code 3VA2163-7MS36-0AA0, meaning the breaker itself is the same platform as the base variant; the -0AE0 suffix adds the auxiliary switch configuration. No undervoltage release, no ground-fault monitoring, no communication module — this is a plain, high-interrupting motor-circuit protector. If you need those features, you're looking at a different suffix, not a different frame.
What the ratings mean for your panel
The 63 A continuous rating holds flat from 40 °C to 70 °C — that's unusual; most MCCBs start derating above 40 °C. Here, you can load it to 63 A even in a hot enclosure. The 189 A minimum trip means the magnetic instantaneous pickup is set high enough to avoid nuisance trips on motor inrush but still catches a bolted fault. Power loss is 4 W maximum, negligible for thermal budgeting. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C, storage from -40 °C to 80 °C, so it's fine for unheated warehouses or outdoor cabinets in moderate climates.