SCR-APM Mini Screw Compressors: Technology for Smaller Operations
Three equipment levels, 9 modelsThe SCR-APM Mini range brings technology into the workshop that until recently went only into large industrial machines: a permanent-magnet motor above IE4 class, a direct coupling between motor and screw block with no belts or gearbox, and an inverter that holds the speed exactly at what the workshop is using.
Three equipment levels: the bare Base machine, the TD assembly with a receiver and dryer, or FF, which adds two-stage filtration and automatic condensate handling. The control range of the series is 130 to 690 litres per minute. The TD and FF assemblies are built in the Czech Republic.
Why screw instead of piston
In trades and smaller workshops the piston compressor used to be the choice mainly on price. Screw technology has since come down into the lower-demand band as well — and it brings what a piston machine cannot give you:
- a continuous supply of compressed air
- higher energy efficiency
- markedly lower noise
- precise control of operation
- low oil carry-over
- minimal moisture in the compressed air
Where the savings come from
35 % — no idle running
The inverter varies speed continuously with demand, so the machine draws no power at the moments when nobody is using air.
15 % — no wasted pressure
On the IT7000 you set exactly the pressure you need. Every extra bar costs you consumption.
5 % — no transmission losses
The motor couples straight to the block. Against V-belts you lose neither the transmission efficiency nor the tensioning and replacements.
3 % — efficient IE4 motors
Permanent magnets and oil cooling. Efficiency exceeds the IE4 class requirements of IEC EN 60034.
What sets the range apart
IE4 permanent-magnet motor
Cooled by oil from the screw block. Efficiency exceeds the IE4 class requirements of IEC EN 60034 — and because oil cools it, it needs neither its own fan nor a supply of clean air.
Direct coupling with no losses
The block couples straight to the motor. That removes the transmission losses and the maintenance that V-belts, a gearbox or a flexible coupling demand.
INOVANCE inverter with vector control
Speed varies continuously with demand, so the machine does not idle. Vector control holds torque from as low as 0.1 Hz — ordinary inverters lose efficiency below 5 Hz.
IT7000 controller with a 7" display
A colour touchscreen in Czech and Slovak. It tracks machine status and service intervals and allows weekly scheduling.
You can read the status from the door
The front panel lights up and shows by colour whether the compressor is making air, is unloaded or is stopped. You do not have to walk over to it.
What is inside
Inside sits an oil-lubricated screw block of the maker’s own build running at low speed, coupled directly to a permanent-magnet motor. Around it the air, oil and separator filters, the combined valve, the oil cooler with its fan and the inverter enclosure.
The bare Base machine measures 650 × 600 × 860 mm and weighs 180 kg. TD adds a receiver and a dryer, FF adds filtration and a separator on top — and is 126 mm wider.
1 screw block with oil reservoir · 2 permanent-magnet motor · 3 air filter · 4 oil filter · 5 separator filter · 6 combined valve · 7 oil cooler · 8 fan · 9 inverter · 10 air outlet
The screw block, electric motor and oil reservoir are integrated into one unit — which is why the whole machine fits into a 650 × 600 mm footprint.
Three equipment levels
Base — the bare machine
For sites that have the receiver and drying sorted separately. The smallest installed dimensions in the range: a 650 × 600 mm footprint.
TD — the 3-in-1 assembly
Compressor, a 200 l receiver and an RDL refrigerant dryer on one frame. No pipework design to do, less installation material, and no pressure-assembly certification needed.
FF — the top level
The whole TD assembly plus two-stage filtration and automatic condensate handling. Air of class 1-4-1 to ISO 8573-1 and a separator that parts the oil from the water.
| What each assembly includes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Equipment | TD | FF |
| air receiver | yes | yes |
| refrigerant dryer | yes | yes |
| pre-filter + microfilter | — | yes |
| condensate drains | — | yes |
| water-oil separator | — | yes |
The core of the compressor and its main technology stay the same across all versions. The higher assemblies progressively add air-treatment equipment and automatic condensate handling.
From the left: Base the bare machine · TD with receiver and dryer · FF with filtration and the WOSM separator, visible on the right by the receiver.
Which model to choose
| SCR-APM Mini screw compressors (10 bar, inverter drive) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Level | Control range | By volume | Input power | Receiver | Dryer | Weight |
| SCR-3/10APM | Base | 130 – 320 l/min | 7.8 – 19.2 m³/h | 3.6 kW | — | no | 180 kg |
| SCR-4/10APM | Base | 200 – 510 l/min | 12.0 – 30.6 m³/h | 4.7 kW | — | no | 180 kg |
| SCR-5,5/10APM | Base | 280 – 690 l/min | 16.8 – 41.4 m³/h | 5.8 kW | — | no | 180 kg |
| SCR-3/10APM-200D | TD | 130 – 320 l/min | 7.8 – 19.2 m³/h | 3.6 kW | 200 l | yes | 278 kg |
| SCR-4/10APM-200D | TD | 200 – 510 l/min | 12.0 – 30.6 m³/h | 4.7 kW | 200 l | yes | 280 kg |
| SCR-5,5/10APM-200D | TD | 280 – 690 l/min | 16.8 – 41.4 m³/h | 5.8 kW | 200 l | yes | 280 kg |
| SCR-3/10APM-200FF | FF | 130 – 320 l/min | 7.8 – 19.2 m³/h | 3.6 kW | 200 l | yes | 289 kg |
| SCR-4/10APM-200FF | FF | 200 – 510 l/min | 12.0 – 30.6 m³/h | 4.7 kW | 200 l | yes | 291 kg |
| SCR-5,5/10APM-200FF | FF | 280 – 690 l/min | 16.8 – 41.4 m³/h | 5.8 kW | 200 l | yes | 291 kg |
All models: 10 bar, 400/50 V/Hz, three-phase, 1/2" outlet, 65 ± 3 dB(A) noise at 1 m. Dimensions Base 650 × 600 × 860 mm, TD 1,257 × 655 × 1,364 mm, FF 1,257 × 781 × 1,364 mm. FAD output measured to ISO 1217 at each model’s maximum pressure.
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How idle running happens
A fixed-speed compressor runs in cycles. After starting it compresses air and the motor is under load. As soon as it reaches the required pressure it switches to idle running — it no longer makes air, but the motor keeps turning the screw block and consuming energy.
Idle running makes the next start easier, but it lasts tens of seconds and consumes energy to no purpose. The manufacturer states this is typically tens of percent of total consumption. And an awkward ratio applies: the less air you draw, the greater the share of idle running — which is exactly where the biggest scope for savings opens up.
What the IT7000 controller does
- colour touchscreen
- menu in Czech and Slovak
- 7" screen
- parameter display and setting
- weekly running schedule
- fault log archive
- automatic restart
Assemblies on a single frame
The TD and FF assemblies take up an installation footprint of just 0.82 m². The concept simplifies installation, saves space and delivers good air quality to the equipment it feeds:
- an installation footprint of just 0.82 m²
- extremely quick commissioning
- minimal installation cost
- no cost for certifying a pressure-vessel assembly
- excellent compressed-air quality
What the electricity will cost
| Annual electricity cost (CZK) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input power | 1,000 h | 2,000 h | 4,000 h | ||||||
| CZK 4/kWh | CZK 5/kWh | CZK 6/kWh | CZK 4/kWh | CZK 5/kWh | CZK 6/kWh | CZK 4/kWh | CZK 5/kWh | CZK 6/kWh | |
| 3 kW | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 36,000 | 48,000 | 60,000 | 72,000 |
| 4 kW | 16,000 | 20,000 | 24,000 | 32,000 | 40,000 | 48,000 | 64,000 | 80,000 | 96,000 |
| 5.5 kW | 22,000 | 27,500 | 33,000 | 44,000 | 55,000 | 66,000 | 88,000 | 110,000 | 132,000 |
The table is taken from the manufacturer catalogue. It shows what the electricity costs for a given input power according to the running hours per year and the price per kWh — in other words, how much is at stake when consumption drops.
Maintenance and service
Cheaper maintenance
No V-belt replacement or tensioning, and no hoses to split or leak. A direct drive has nothing to maintain.
Genuine parts and lubricants
To keep the output up and avoid a failure, only genuine fluids and filters belong in it. Pick the part from the documentation or from the marking on it inside the machine.
Service network
Maintenance is handled by a network of service partners across the country, so you avoid needless call-out costs.
You do not have to buy — SCRent rental
You do not have to buy a new compressor. The SCRent programme lets you take the machine on a five-year long-term rental with monthly payments — in cooperation with Raiffeisenbank.
The monthly payment is not simply the price divided by sixty. It covers everything the next five years of operation will bring. The only thing you pay for yourself is the electricity you use.
No large one-off investment
You have the compressor straight away without tying up a larger sum in capital expenditure.
Payments are a direct business cost
Rental is booked straight to costs and is not subject to depreciation.
Clear costs five years ahead
The payment is all-inclusive for everything around the compressor except energy. No surprises mid-term.
You save from day one
An efficient modern machine cuts consumption immediately — the saving starts sooner than a conventional purchase would pay back.
What the monthly payment covers
- the price of the chosen SCR screw compressor model
- the price of selected air-treatment equipment
- scheduled maintenance for the whole rental period, with no limit on running hours
- breakdown service — all costs of failures during the rental
- professional installation of all the equipment
- transport of all the equipment to the installation site
- pressure-vessel inspections
- free environmental disposal of oils and filter elements
- insurance against damage and theft for the whole rental period
- operator training for correct running and basic maintenance
- discounts on equipment, spare parts and oils you buy
Where the range is used
Workshops moving off a piston machine
A continuous air supply instead of intermittent running, markedly less noise and drier air in the pipework.
Car and tyre workshops
Demand swings with how many bays are busy. The inverter follows it instead of letting the machine idle.
Paint shops and surface finishing
The FF version delivers class 1-4-1 air — free of particles and practically free of oil.
Sites watching their consumption
Where the electricity shows on the invoice and idle running does not pay.
Ventilek advises
This machine earns its keep by what it does not do. It does not idle, it does not lose energy in belts and it does not push air to a higher pressure than you need. None of those three is visible at a glance — all three are visible on the invoice. The table above this paragraph is not ours, it comes from the manufacturer catalogue; compare it with what you pay for electricity today.
Frequently asked questions
- What does APM stand for?
- It is short for a permanent-magnet motor. The figure after the dash is the motor input power in kilowatts, the figure after the slash the pressure in bar. The -200D suffix marks the TD assembly with a two-hundred-litre receiver and a dryer, -200FF the top level with filtration and condensate separation.
- How do Base, TD and FF differ?
- The compressor technology is the same in all three. Base is the bare machine. TD adds a 200 l receiver and a refrigerant dryer on a shared frame. FF adds a pre-filter, a microfilter and automatic condensate drainage and separation. The TD and FF assemblies are built in the Czech Republic.
- Why are there two figures for the output?
- That is the control range of the inverter. The first figure is the minimum the machine turns down to at low demand, the second the maximum at peak. It is this control that removes the idle running on which fixed-speed machines burn electricity to no purpose — the manufacturer counts 35 % of the saving from it.
- What air does the FF version deliver?
- The AAFM pre-filter between compressor and dryer and the AAFS microfilter at the outlet give air of class 1-4-1 to ISO 8573-1 under reference conditions. Condensate from both filters and the dryer is drained by float drains, from the receiver by an electronic LD drain — with no loss of the air you have made. The WOSM separator then parts the oil from the water, so the remaining water can go down the drain.
- What about the dryer on the TD and FF assemblies?
- The RDL dryer holds a pressure dew point of +5 °C and works with the environmentally friendly refrigerant R513a. It has its own electronic controller with a segment display. Why air is dried at all is covered in Why and how to dry compressed air.
- Is a screw compressor worth it instead of a piston one?
- If the machine runs a few hours a week, a piston compressor will do and costs less to buy. A screw machine pays back where it runs daily and for long stretches — it supplies air continuously, is markedly quieter and puts less oil and moisture into the pipework.
- Who makes SCR?
- Shanghai Screw Compressor Co., Ltd, founded in 2000. Over 250 staff on an 80,000 m² site, more than a tenth of them in development. Manufacturing to ISO 9001, CE and UL certification, machine performance checked by SGS audits. The machines are exported to more than 80 countries. Since 2018 a joint venture has run with the Japanese maker Anest Iwata, which brought its own quality management system into SCR.
- What about the warranty?
- The base warranty is two years with the option to extend to five. The extension is not limited by running hours and does not require a service contract. The condition is the use of genuine lubricants and filters.
Bestsellers
Product sorting
List of products
The entry screw compressor of the range, without a receiver. 320 l/min at ten bar, 180 kg and a footprint of just 0.39 m² — for a workshop that already has a receiver.
Compressor, dryer and 200 l receiver on one frame in 0.82 m². The entry 3-in-1 package delivering 320 l/min, with no assembly certification needed.
The most sensible 3-in-1 package: 510 l/min with a dryer and a 200 l receiver. The best output-to-input ratio in the range, weight 279 kg.
The best output-to-input ratio in the range: 8 % more power than the 3 kW but 59 % more air. 510 l/min, same enclosure and weight.
The smallest machine at the top equipment level. It turns down to 130 l/min and up to 320, yet does everything the larger assemblies do — two-stage filtration, automatic...
The middle machine at the top equipment level. A 200–510 l/min range covers a workshop with several stations, and adds two-stage filtration, automatic condensate drainage and a...
The top equipment level and the largest machine. To the 3-in-1 assembly it adds two-stage filtration and automatic condensate handling — class 1-4-1 air to ISO 8573-1 and a...
The most powerful 3-in-1 package without filtration — 696 l/min, dryer and 200 l receiver. Twice the entry 3 kW on the same footprint.
The most powerful machine in the range without a receiver — 696 l/min, twice the 3 kW. Still 180 kg and a 650 × 600 × 860 mm enclosure.