During surface grinding, the workpiece can be installed on a rectangular worktable for reciprocating linear motion, or on a circular worktable for circular motion. When the peripheral grinding method of the grinding wheel is used, the main shaft of the grinding machine is arranged in a horizontal layout; when the grinding method of the end face of the grinding wheel is used, the main shaft of the grinding machine is arranged in a vertical type.

According to the combination of spindle layout and table shape, ordinary surface grinders can be divided into the following categories:
1. Horizontal axis moment table surface grinder
In this type of machine, the workpiece is held by a rectangular electromagnetic table. The grinding wheel performs the main motion of rotation, the worktable performs longitudinal reciprocating motion, and the grinding wheel frame performs intermittent vertical cutting motion and lateral feeding motion.

2. Vertical axis circular table surface grinder
On this type of machine tool, the grinding wheel rotates as the main motion and the circular table rotates for circular feed motion, and the grinding wheel frame performs intermittent vertical plunging motion.

3. Vertical axis moment table surface grinder
On this type of machine tool, the grinding wheel performs the main movement of rotation, the rectangular worktable performs longitudinal reciprocating motion, and the grinding wheel frame performs intermittent vertical cutting motion.

4. Horizontal axis circular table surface grinder
On this type of machine tool, the grinding wheel performs the main rotation motion, the circular table rotates for the circular feed motion, and the grinding wheel frame performs the continuous radial feed motion and the intermittent vertical plunging motion. In addition, the center line of rotation of the table can be adjusted to an inclined position for grinding cones.

Double face grinder:
The grinding wheel end faces of two grinding heads are used to grind two parallel planes of the workpiece together. There are two types of horizontal axis and vertical axis. The workpiece is guided over the grinding wheel by a linear or rotary feeding device. This high-power grinder is suitable for high-volume production of parts such as bearing rings and piston rings.

Among the above types of surface grinders, the surface grinder with grinding wheel end grinding is compared with the surface grinder with rim grinding, because the diameter of the grinding wheel for end grinding is often larger, and the full width of the workpiece and the grinding area can be ground at the same time. larger, so the productivity is higher. However, during face grinding, the grinding wheel and the workpiece surface are in arc line or surface contact, the contact area is large, the cooling is difficult, and the chips are not easy to remove. Therefore, the machining accuracy and surface roughness are slightly worse.

Compared with the rectangular table surface grinder, the round table type surface grinder has slightly higher productivity, because the circular table table is continuously fed, while the rectangular table type has a loss of reversing time. In addition, the round table is only suitable for grinding the end face of small parts and large-diameter ring parts, and cannot grind long parts, while the rectangular table can easily grind various common parts, including ring parts with a diameter smaller than the width of the rectangular table.