Segment Information (Detail) - The following table presents certain operating segment information - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015
Sales:
Product	$ 20,972	$ 14,195	$ 37,975	$ 29,848
Service	6,167	4,682	12,840	9,459
Total sales	27,139	18,877	50,815	39,307
Income (loss) from operations	878	(639)	1,221	(1,560)
Assets	48,248	42,127	48,248	42,127	$ 46,996
Capital expenditures	155	120	345	223
Depreciation and amortization	191	159	351	331
High Performance Products Segment
Sales:
Product	2,861	2,527	4,811	4,979
Service	597	130	1,464	360
Total sales	3,458	2,657	6,275	5,339
Income (loss) from operations	(501)	(647)	(924)	(1,504)
Assets	15,353	15,595	15,353	15,595
Capital expenditures	17	25	165	46
Depreciation and amortization	60	60	117	131
Germany
Sales:
Product	1,389	1,796	3,291	3,940
Service	4,027	3,690	8,799	7,218
Total sales	5,416	5,486	12,090	11,158
Income (loss) from operations	718	170	1,181	249
Assets	12,311	12,555	12,311	12,555
Capital expenditures	52	95	119	176
Depreciation and amortization	42	44	82	91
United Kingdom
Sales:
Product	1,352	891	3,345	2,461
Service	262	213	452	496
Total sales	1,614	1,104	3,797	2,957
Income (loss) from operations	(1)	(93)	(48)	(25)
Assets	2,791	3,118	2,791	3,118
Capital expenditures	31	0	33	1
Depreciation and amortization	33	10	38	17
U.S.
Sales:
Product	15,370	8,981	26,528	18,468
Service	1,281	649	2,125	1,385
Total sales	16,651	9,630	28,653	19,853
Income (loss) from operations	662	(69)	1,012	(280)
Assets	17,793	10,859	17,793	10,859
Capital expenditures	55	0	28	0
Depreciation and amortization	56	45	114	92
Total
Sales:
Product	18,111	11,668	33,164	24,869
Service	5,570	4,552	11,376	9,099
Total sales	23,681	16,220	44,540	33,968
Income (loss) from operations	1,379	8	2,145	(56)
Assets	32,895	26,532	32,895	26,532
Capital expenditures	138	95	180	177
Depreciation and amortization	$ 131	$ 99	$ 234	$ 200