A professional who fabricates, fits, maintains, and repairs artificial limbs, plastic cosmetic appliances, and other prosthetic devices, according to prescription specifications and under guidance of prosthetist or prosthetics assistant. Responsibilities include:

• Reads specifications to determine type of prosthesis to be fabricated and materials and tools required.
• Lays out and marks dimensions of parts, using precision measuring instruments and templates.
• Saws, carves, cuts, and grinds wood, plastic, metal, or fabric to fabricate parts, using rotary sawing and cutting machines and hand cutting tools.
• Drills and taps holes for rivets and screws, using drill press.
• Glues, welds, bolts, sews, and rivets parts together to form prostheses, such as artificial limbs.
• Makes wax or plastic impression of patient's amputated area, prepares mold from impression, and pours molten plastic into mold to form cosmetic appliances, such as artificial ear, nose, or hand.
• Assembles layers of padding over prosthesis and fits and attaches outer covering, such as leather, sheet plastic, or fiberglass, over device, using sewing machine, rivet gun, and handtools.
• Mixes pigments according to formula to duplicate skin coloring of patient and applies pigments to outer covering of prosthesis.
• Polishes finished device, using grinding and buffing wheels.
• Tests prostheses for freedom of movement, alignment of parts, and biomechanical stability, using plumbline, goniometer, and alignment fixtures.
• May harness prosthesis to patient's stump, applying knowledge of functional anatomy.
• May instruct patient in use of prosthesis.
• May also perform functions of orthotics technician.