Atlas Copco ZT 160 VSD (iMD VSD⁺) Oil-free Air Compressor

The Atlas Copco ZT 160 VSD sits at the top of the air-cooled ZT 110-160 (VSD) oil-free range, bringing 160 kW (215 hp) of Class 0 compression to plants that have no cooling water to offer. Atlas Copco pioneered oil-free air technology and was the first compressor manufacturer to be awarded ISO 8573-1 Class 0 certification, and this model carries that pedigree into mid-size pharmaceutical, food, textile, and electronics plants. Two pressure variants leave the factory: an 8.6 bar(e) machine and a 10.4 bar(e) machine, each covering its own envelope from minimum to maximum setting.

What separates this model from a fixed speed unit is how the flow arrives. The variable speed drive of the ZT 160 VSD follows the plant demand curve, so a packaging line that draws heavily during order picking and idles during changeovers never forces the compressor to unload and blow air to atmosphere. On the 10.4 bar(e) variant the delivered flow still starts from 165 l/s with the package turned down to its 6.5 bar(e) minimum setting, and the motor settles at 160 kW (215 hp) across the whole envelope.

Noise is part of the specification rather than an afterthought. The ZT 110-160 (VSD) group reads 79 dB(A) at the work station, measured with the cooling-air ducting on the outlet grating included, which lets the machine share a production bay instead of demanding its own closed compressor room.

Air purity is the reason buyers step up to the ZT 160 VSD platform in the first place. Oil particles entering a compressed air system create product contamination and damage end products, and only a machine that never injects oil into the compression chamber removes that risk at the source. The same logic covers dust and water: the oil-free element and the downstream treatment options keep the delivered air inside the class the process demands, which is why the model appears in specification sheets for direct product contact and instrument duty alike.

ZT 160 VSD Technical Data

Read the 8.6 bar(e) column of the ZT 160 VSD top to bottom and the working band becomes clear: from 144 l/s at the 4 bar(e) floor to 410 l/s at full speed on the effective setting, a span wide enough to serve a single large consumer or a mixed network of intermittent users. Unit performance follows ISO 1217, Annex C & E, Edition 4 (2009), and the printed imperial figures are quoted as published.

Pack and FF (iMD) Builds

The ZT 160 VSD ships as one assembled air-cooled unit. The published dimensions and weights below are shared across the ZT 110-160 (VSD) group, with the FF (iMD) build extending the frame to accept the integrated dryer.

The FF (iMD) build integrates a rotary drum adsorption dryer inside the same canopy. Three quarters of the drum surface dries the compressed air while the remaining quarter regenerates with hot compressed air, so the dew point is held without a separate desiccant tower row and without purge air leaving the package. Having the dryer integrated helps for easier installation, because the wiring and piping between the compressor section and the dryer are completed in the factory. Installation turns into a matter of connecting the air main and the power supply, and the pressure drop of external piping between two machines simply disappears from the design.

The ZT 160 VSD+ Branch

Above the current VSD platform sits the ZT 160 VSD+, built on a range that features dual NEOS drives and therefore holds the widest turn-down in its class. The branch comes as a single 10.4 bar(e) variant, reads 69 dB(A) at the work station, and shares the air-cooled architecture of the range.

Weighing 2795 kg as a Pack unit and 3445 kg in the FF (iMD) form, the VSD+ branch trims 1055 kg and more than a metre of frame length against the current build, because its Pack frame starts at 3400 mm long, 1660 mm wide, and 2000 mm high, and the FF (iMD) form measures 4085 mm long on the same width and height. The trade-off to weigh against the current machine is a single pressure variant instead of two.

Air-Cooled Architecture and Control

Cooling is the defining difference of the ZT 160 VSD: ambient air carries away the compression heat, so the machine installs against an outside wall, in a yard annex, or on an upper floor where a water-cooled package would need civil work for piping and a cooling tower. The 2025-generation platform pairs this layout with an IP66 permanent magnet motor that is water cooled and oil lubricated internally, keeping the motor protected while the airflow handles the coolers.

Supervision of the ZT 160 VSD runs on the Elektronikon Touch controller, the advanced touch screen monitoring system with enhanced connectivity that schedules maintenance, raises warnings before they become trips, and visualizes the condition of the package online. The NEOS inverter is designed for the harsh electrical environment of industrial plants, and its cubicle is arranged to keep the drive cool, which extends the lifetime of the electronics. Grouped service items put every consumable within reach of one service position, shortening each maintenance stop.

The ZT 160 VSD package is laid out as a plug and play unit: optimized components, the motor, the coolers, and the control arrive assembled and tested, so commissioning consists of positioning the frame, connecting the power supply, and opening the air main. Plants that later add a second compressor or a dryer branch into the same room will find the service side of the package remains a single position, because the grouped layout keeps consumables, filters, and the oil system on the same access face throughout the 110-160 group.

Air quality stays at the head of the specification. Only a true oil-free machine excludes the risk of oil contamination in the compressed air, and the ZT 160 VSD delivers that Class 0 air to food and beverage, medical and health care, textile, and chemical processes without downstream oil filtration stages.

Where the ZT 160 VSD Fits

Plants that fit the ZT 160 VSD share two traits: a demand curve that swings across the shift, and no practical access to cooling water. The variable speed drive absorbs the swing, the air-cooled coolers reject the heat to the room or to the outdoors through ducting, and the 3850 kg package lands on a standard industrial floor without foundations. Facilities running several fixed speed oil-free units often replace two of them with one ZT 160 VSD, because the turn-down band of the machine covers the combined night and weekend load that used to idle two compressors.

When the requirement climbs beyond 410 l/s or the plant wants an even quieter package, the next step in the same air-cooled family is the Atlas Copco ZT 200 VSD Oil-free Air Compressor, which extends the envelope in the adjacent 200 kW (268 hp) class.

Auditors and consultants read a compressor room differently than production managers do, and this model answers both. The Class 0 certification documents the purity of the delivered air for the quality file, while the Elektronikon log documents how the package responded to each demand event for the energy file. Between audits, the variable speed behaviour keeps the header pressure steady enough that downstream instruments see the same supply in the morning ramp-up as they do at midnight, which removes one of the classic excuses for oversizing the network pressure in the first place.

ZT 160 VSD FAQ

How much air does the 8.6 bar(e) variant deliver?

Between 144 and 410 l/s (305 to 868 cfm) depending on the pressure setting, with the top of the band reached at the 7 bar(e) effective setting.

What does the FF (iMD) build change?

It adds the rotary drum adsorption dryer to the same frame, stretching the package from 3400 mm to 4085 mm and raising the weight from 3850 kg to 4250 kg, while holding the dew point without external dryer vessels.

Is the ZT 160 VSD+ a different machine?

The ZT 160 VSD+ shares the 160 kW (215 hp) air-cooled class on the dual NEOS drive platform: one 10.4 bar(e) variant, 69 dB(A), a 79 to 437 l/s turn-down, and a lighter 2795 kg Pack frame.

Can it really run without cooling water?

Yes. The ZT 160 VSD rejects its compression heat through the cooler block, which is why the ZT line exists, and the outlet grating ducting is already accounted for in the published 79 dB(A) figure.

Which pressure variant should a buyer choose?

On the ZT 160 VSD, the 8.6 bar(e) variant suits general plant networks, while the 10.4 bar(e) variant serves higher-pressure processes; quoting the working pressure of the network is the fastest way to lock the choice.

What audit documentation does the machine support?

The ISO 8573-1 Class 0 certification of the oil-free platform is the accepted reference for food, pharmaceutical, and electronics audits that classify compressed air as a direct product contact medium.