Choosing the proper floor grinding and polishing machine is critical for your bottom line, therefore a good understanding of the different options is necessary.

Grinding machines are used to prepare, level, polish, and remove glues and coatings on concrete surfaces. They are often called diamond grinders or diamond polishers because they use diamond abrasives to process the floor. There are two main types of walk-behind grinders based on their mechanics: planetary and rotary. Almost For planetary machines, they are driven by belts/chains and pulleys and have a large primary grinding head with smaller satellite heads that hold the concrete diamond tools. When the machine is operating, the satellite heads rotate in the opposite direction of the main head which eliminates "rows" or linear grinding marks in the floor. They are also more flexible and easy to maneuver. Remember though, it is important to overlap around 25-30% of the machine working width. On the other hand, rotary machines are driven by gear mechanism and have two, four, or eight heads rotating from a fixed position. Those are usually heavier and require more skill to operate because it is common for such machines to leave “rows”, unless they are constantly swung like a buffing machine.

Proper dust collection is also necessary during dry grinding projects which generate a lot of dust. Industrial grade vacuums equipped with Hepa filters are designed to mnimize airborn dust and reduce operator's risk of breathing contaminated air. Air scrubbers can further improve the quality of the air on the jobsite by filtering out gas, chemical and particle contamination.

Grinder productivity varies depending on size, weight, and grinding pressure. Choosing the right equipment for your business depends on what type of projects you are going to focus on - small residential or large commercial and industrial jobs.