A professional who operates diamond-studded saw to cut slabs of optical glass into various sizes and shapes for molding into or direct use as blanks for making lenses, prisms, mirrors, and other optical elements for precision instruments. Responsibilities include:

• Reads work order or receives oral instructions regarding glass to be cut.
• Refers to chart to determine size of pieces to be cut for weight specified.
• Inspects glass for defects, such as bubbles, cracks, or striae, and determines cutting method to obtain maximum number of blanks.
• Marks cutting lines on glass, using marking pencil.
• Positions stock on bed of saw and sets guides for depth and width of cut.
• Starts machine and saws glass following markings.
• Removes, weighs, and measures glass blank to ensure conformance to specifications.
• Examines blanks to be molded for chips and sharp edges and removes defects, using grinder.
• May remove excess stock from cut or molded blanks, using surface grinder.