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Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Consolidation Policy
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of FEI Company and our wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, “FEI”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates Policy
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Restricted Cash Policy
As part of our contracts with certain customers, we are required to provide letters of credit or bank guarantees which these customers can draw against in the event we do not perform in accordance with our contractual obligations. Restricted cash balances securing bank guarantees that expire within 12 months of the balance sheet date are recorded as a current asset on our consolidated balance sheets. Restricted cash balances securing bank guarantees that expire beyond 12 months from the balance sheet date are recorded as long-term restricted cash on our consolidated balance sheets.
Inventories Policy
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost determined by standard cost methods, which approximate the first-in, first-out method. Inventory costs include material, labor and manufacturing overhead. Service inventories that exceed the estimated requirements for the next 12 months based on recent usage levels are reported as a long-term asset. Management has established inventory reserves based on estimates of excess and/or obsolete current and non-current inventory.
Intangible Assets Policy
Patents, trademarks and other are amortized under the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives of 2 to 10 years. Customer relationships are amortized under the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives of 5 to 10 years. Developed technology is amortized under the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the related technology, which ranges from 5.5 to 10 years. Note issuance costs were amortized over the life of the related debt, which was 7 years.
Warranty Liabilities Policy
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.