Construct, fit, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices, such as braces, artificial limbs, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.

Other names for Medical Appliance Technicians: Arch Support Maker, Arch Support Technician, Artificial Limb Maker Apprentice, Artificial Plastic Eye Maker, Brace Maker, Brace Maker Apprentice, Certified Orthotist, Certified Pedorthotist, Certified Prosthetist, Designer, Fitter, Hearing Aid Repair Technician, Lab Supervisor, Lab Technician, Licensed Orthotist, Licensed Orthotist Assistant, Licensed Prosthetist, Medical Appliance Maker, Medical Assembler, Medical or Surgical Instrument Maker, Model Maker, Ocularist, Operation Manager, Orthopaedic Technician, Orthopedic Brace Maker, Orthopedic Technician, Orthotic / Prosthetic Lab Supervisor, Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician (O and P Technician), Orthotic Fabricator Technician, Orthotic Technician, Orthotics Fitter, Orthotics Technician, Orthotist, Prosthetic Lab Technician, Prosthetics Fabrication Technician, Prosthetics Technician, Prosthetist, Registered Prosthetic Orthotic Technician, Restoration Officer, Restoration Technician, Surgical Appliance Fitter, Surgical Brace Maker, Surgical Instrument Maker,

• Fit appliances onto patients, and make any necessary adjustments.
• Make orthotic/prosthetic devices using materials such as thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, metal alloys and leather, and hand and power tools.
• Read prescriptions or specifications in order to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated, and the materials and tools that will be required.
• Repair, modify, and maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, and surgical supports, according to specifications.
• Instruct patients in use of prosthetic or orthotic devices.
• Take patients' body or limb measurements for use in device construction.
• Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns.
• Bend, form, and shape fabric or material so that it conforms to prescribed contours needed to fabricate structural components.
• Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, and rivet parts together in order to form prosthetic or orthotic devices.
• Lay out and mark dimensions of parts, using templates and precision measuring instruments.
• Test medical supportive devices for proper alignment, movement, and biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures.
• Cover or pad metal or plastic structures and devices, using coverings such as rubber, leather, felt, plastic, or fiberglass.
• Polish artificial limbs, braces, and supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
• Service and repair machinery used in the fabrication of appliances.
• Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices.

• Scanners
• Blow torches
• Air compressors
• Alignment jig
• Hex keys
• Anvils
• Workshop presses
• Tube bending machinery
• Power saws
• Pneumatic sanding machines
• Power sanders
• Lathes
• Punches or nail sets or drifts
• Wing benders
• Power buffers
• Cast cutters or saws
• Hammers
• Milling cutters
• Lathes
• Power drills
• Milling cutters
• Deburring equipment
• Calipers
• Digital camcorders or video cameras
• Scanners
• Power sanders
• Workshop presses
• Power sanders
• End cut pliers
• Sewing machines
• Pressure indicators
• Glue guns
• Grinding machines
• Rasps
• Power grinders
• Files
• Heat guns
• Hex keys
• Laboratory box furnaces
• Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
• Dust collectors
• Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
• Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
• Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
• Notebook computers
• Sewing machines
• Tape measures
• Pipe bending mandrels
• Power grinders
• Power saws
• Personal computers
• Pipe vises
• Power saws
• Pneumatic hammer
• Power drills
• Power routers
• Power planes
• Bench vises
• Ear muffs
• Rivet tools
• Power saws
• Mallets
• Safety glasses
• Swaging tools
• Power saws
• Torque wrenches
• Vacuum molding machines
• Pneumatic vacuum equipment
• Power routers
• Welders
• Files
• Bench vises

Computer aided design CAD software

Medical software

Computer aided manufacturing CAM software