Flat grinding machine with laser position measurement in the longitudinal axis

A surface grinding machine including:

• a machine frame, which includes a machine bed with a guiding bay extending in an x-direction;
• a workpiece table, which is driven by a table drive and which can be moved back and forth in the guiding bay in the x-direction;
• a rotatable grinding wheel, which is positioned above the workpiece table and which is height-adjustable at least in a z-direction perpendicular to the x-direction in order to grind a workpiece clamped on the workpiece table;
• characterized in that the upwards facing opening of the guiding bay is respectively covered on the sides bordering the workpiece table by a cover that allows the movement of the workpiece table, in that a length measurement unit is mounted on the machine frame in the guiding bay below the plane of the cover, which length measurement unit includes a laser radiation source and a laser radiation sensor, and in that a reflector is mounted on the workpiece table, likewise below the plane of the cover, which reflects the laser radiation emitted by the laser radiation source in the guiding bay to the laser radiation sensor, wherein the length measurement unit includes a processor unit which controls the laser radiation source, which receives a sensor signal from the laser radiation sensor, and which determines the position of the workpiece table in the x-direction from the transit time of the emitted laser radiation and provides said position for the control of the movement of the workpiece table in the x-direction.