Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Assemble and mount lenses into frames or process other optical elements. Includes precision lens polishers or grinders, centerer-edgers, and lens mounters.
What you’d do
- Mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines.
- Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses.
- Set up machines to polish, bevel, edge, or grind lenses, flats, blanks, or other precision optical elements.
- Inspect, weigh, and measure mounted or unmounted lenses after completion to verify alignment and conformance to specifications, using precision instruments.
- Shape lenses appropriately so that they can be inserted into frames.
- Clean finished lenses and eyeglasses, using cloths and solvents.
- Mount, secure, and align finished lenses in frames or optical assemblies, using precision hand tools.
- Examine prescriptions, work orders, or broken or used eyeglasses to determine specifications for lenses, contact lenses, or other optical elements.
Skills that matter
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
How to get there
Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one
Also called
- Lab Technician (Laboratory Technician)
- Optical Lab Technician (Optical Laboratory Technician)
- Optical Technician
- Surfacing Technician
- Edger Technician
- Finishing Lab Technician
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