Warranty Reserves

3 Months Ended

Apr. 01, 2012

Product Warranties Disclosures [Abstract]

Warranty Reserves

WARRANTY RESERVES

Our products generally carry a one-year warranty. A reserve is established at the time of sale to cover estimated warranty costs and certain commitments for product upgrades as a component of cost of sales on our consolidated statements of operations. Our estimate of warranty cost is primarily based on our history of warranty repairs and maintenance, as applied to systems currently under warranty. For our new products without a history of known warranty costs, we estimate the expected costs based on our experience with similar product lines and technology. While most new products are extensions of existing technology, the estimate could change if new products require a significantly different level of repair and maintenance than similar products have required in the past. Our estimated warranty costs are reviewed and updated on a quarterly basis. Changes to the reserve occur as volume, product mix and warranty costs fluctuate.

The following is a summary of warranty reserve activity (in thousands):

	Thirteen Weeks Ended
	April 1, 2012			April 3, 2011
Balance, beginning of period	$	11,683		$	8,648
Reductions for warranty costs incurred	(2,531		)	(2,422		)
Warranties issued	2,621			3,359
Translation and changes in estimates	129			150
Balance, end of period	$	11,902		$	9,735