Is CFM the same as SCFM?

No. CFM is a volume-flow label, while SCFM explicitly refers to flow at a stated set of standard conditions. Keep the manufacturer's exact label with the value.

Can you compare CFM and SCFM at the same PSI?

Matching PSI is not enough by itself. The flow label and the reference or actual conditions also need to be compatible, so Air Tool Match does not currently compare a CFM record with an SCFM record.

What does ACFM mean on a compressor specification?

ACFM identifies flow under actual conditions. Record those stated conditions with the number instead of treating it as an unlabeled CFM value.

Why do air tools use CFM while some compressors use SCFM?

Manufacturers publish specifications using different labels and conventions. Preserve the label on each source rather than assuming two differently labelled figures are interchangeable.

Can you convert SCFM to CFM from the label alone?

No. The label alone does not provide the stated reference conditions, actual conditions, and conversion method needed for a defensible conversion.

CFM vs SCFM vs ACFM: What Can You Compare?

CFM, SCFM, and ACFM are not interchangeable labels. To compare two published figures, keep each source's label, pressure, and stated conditions attached. A shared 90 PSI line does not erase a difference between CFM and SCFM delivered.

Label on the source	Context to keep	Example from a manufacturer	Air Tool Match treatment
`CFM at 90 PSI`	Flow value and stated pressure	Makita MAC2400: `Performance (90 PSI)`, 4.2 CFM	Eligible when the tool is also published in CFM at 90 PSI
`SCFM delivered at 90 PSI`	Standard-condition label, delivery wording, and pressure	DEWALT DWFP55130: 3.0 SCFM delivered at 90 PSI	Kept separate in the current matcher
`ACFM`	Actual flow and the stated actual conditions	The complete source entry is needed	Kept separate in the current matcher
`Displacement CFM`	Displacement rather than delivered air	Rolair 3095K18: 17.2 CFM displaced, beside 12.5 CFM delivered at 90 PSI	Not used as delivered output

The useful rule

Keep the complete published label beside an airflow number. A bare 4.2 or 4.2 CFM is not enough to decide whether it belongs in the same calculation as another number.

Air Tool Match currently compares a tool figure with a compressor figure only when both are published at the same PSI and the compressor figure is labelled CFM. It deliberately stops when the compressor record is labelled SCFM, ACFM, or delivered SCFM. That is a boundary, not a claim that one label is better than another.

The Compressed Air and Gas Institute glossary distinguishes standard conditions from actual conditions, and CAGI's compressor-performance guide separates compressor displacement from air delivered. Those distinctions are why this site stores the wording from the source rather than silently rewriting every output as one generic CFM number.

The table is a handling rule, not a conversion chart. The site does not calculate SCFM from CFM, calculate CFM from ACFM, or decide that a delivered figure is interchangeable with another label because the PSI looks similar.

Why same PSI is necessary but not sufficient

Pressure is still important. Compressor output may be shown at more than one stated condition, and the values can differ on the same manufacturer page. The DEWALT support table lists some compressor models with output entries at 40, 60, 90, or 100 PSI. That is a reason to retain the pressure printed next to the number.

But a pressure match alone does not erase the label. Consider two records at 90 PSI:

Tool:        4.2 CFM, Average Air Consumption, 90 PSI
Compressor:  3.0 SCFM delivered, 90 PSI

They share a pressure line, but the compressor label is SCFM delivered, not CFM. The matcher stops. Producing a clean subtraction would hide the exact distinction the manufacturer published.

The opposite error also happens. A compressor may publish a CFM figure at 90 PSI while the selected tool specification is shown at a different pressure. A shared CFM label does not make those conditions automatically comparable either. The current utility requires both checks: same stated PSI and an eligible compressor label.

How manufacturers phrase the figures

Product pages do not follow one universal display pattern. For example, the Makita MAC2400 product page publishes a Performance (90 PSI) figure of 4.2 CFM. The Rolair 3095K18 page publishes 12.5 CFM delivered at 90 PSI beside a separate 17.2 CFM displaced figure. Those pages are both useful sources, but they do not use identical wording.

The practical discipline is simple:

Copy the model identifier.
Copy the number, unit, and pressure together.
Copy the field label as the manufacturer writes it.
Keep the manufacturer URL and a checked date with the record.
Only perform the site’s narrow comparison if the stored fields pass its rules.

That approach is less dramatic than calling every entry “airflow,” but it leaves an audit trail. A visitor can open the source page and see why a record was included, shown as not comparable, or omitted.

Check your own pairing

Both figures at the same pressure, with source links.

Matcher

Air tool Compressor

Delivered does not mean the same thing as the site’s result

The word delivered can look reassuring because it sounds more concrete. It is still a source label, not permission to merge values automatically. CAGI's performance guide discusses the difference between compressor displacement and air delivered, which is exactly the kind of distinction that gets lost when a table has only one unlabeled “CFM” column.

The matcher’s displayed result has a narrower meaning. It is the arithmetic difference between the selected published tool field and a published compressor CFM field at the same PSI. It is not a measurement of delivered air in a visitor's installation. It does not predict tool performance, tank recovery, receiver condition, regulator behavior, hose losses, duty cycle, electrical suitability, or pressure safety.

Those omitted conditions matter to a real equipment decision. They are outside the evidence the current records contain. For an application decision, take the exact model specification and the working conditions to the manufacturer or a qualified professional.

A reading example

The Ingersoll Rand 231C record lists Average Air Consumption: 4.2 CFM at 90 PSI. The Makita MAC2400 page lists Performance (90 PSI): 4.2 CFM. The matcher may place those stated figures side by side because the tool field, compressor label, and pressure condition fit the current rule. Its arithmetic is transparent:

4.2 CFM published tool figure × 1 tool = 4.2 CFM
4.2 CFM published compressor figure at 90 PSI
Difference between the two stated figures = 0 CFM

That zero is not an equipment recommendation. It only describes the two stored figures under the selected field and condition.

Now use the DEWALT DWFP55130 record, which publishes 3.0 SCFM delivered at 90 PSI. The pressure still matches, but the label does not. The correct output for this site is not comparable. Nothing has failed. The page has preserved the limit of the data instead of inventing a bridge between terms.

What to do when the label is unclear

Do not infer from a thumbnail, retailer listing, forum post, or a number copied into a search snippet. Open the manufacturer page or the manufacturer document. If the page does not make the field and condition clear, the honest record is incomplete.

That is also why the current dataset is small. A smaller table with a source URL, checked date, condition, and original label is more useful than a large table that mixes categories without telling the reader where the values came from.

You can use the air-consumption field guide to inspect a tool record, then return to the matcher only if the manufacturer fields satisfy the site’s narrow rule.

Sources checked

Definitions and CAGI references checked 2026-09-28. Manufacturer pages can change. Each product record retains its own source link and checked date.