Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	6 Months Ended
Jul. 03, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [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. Bank guarantees and letters of credit outstanding as of July 3, 2016 were approximately $39.7 million. 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 acquired intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 6 months to 10 years. Customer relationships are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 5 to 10 years. Developed technology is amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the related technology ranging from 2 to 10 years. In-process research and development costs are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 3 to 5.5 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.

Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jul. 03, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

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. Bank guarantees and letters of credit outstanding as of July 3, 2016 were approximately $39.7 million. 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 acquired intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 6 months to 10 years. Customer relationships are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 5 to 10 years. Developed technology is amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the related technology ranging from 2 to 10 years. In-process research and development costs are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 3 to 5.5 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.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for major classes of inventories, bases of stating inventories (for example, lower of cost or market), methods by which amounts are added and removed from inventory classes (for example, FIFO, LIFO, or average cost), loss recognition on impairment of inventories, and situations in which inventories are stated above cost. If inventory is carried at cost, this disclosure includes the nature of the cost elements included in inventory.

+ References + Details