The main methods of classification and coding in mechanical engineering are studied from the systemic point of view, their main characteristics are considered. When analyzing the systemology of classification of machines of various functional purposes, the absence of a unified methodological approach in constructing the classification and in coding the products is shown. In the existing classifications, products are considered constructively only as objects of operation, and the other stages of their life cycle are not affected. As a result of the system analysis, a unified methodological approach is proposed for constructing classifications, coding and unification of products for various functional purposes, reflecting the features of all stages of their life cycle. For the production stages of the life cycle, a system of classifications using various coding methods is considered: a description of structural and technological elements formed by the tool edges, a sequence of numbers, taking into account signs; a description of the surfaces formed by tool movements, in numbers, indicating the directions of feed movements; and to describe complex-profile surfaces and a combination of long-range elements, their combination is used. The expediency of using each of the classifications in real production conditions is determined by the statistics of use of structural and technological elements and surfaces, as well as of tools that form them.