Acquisitions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended							3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2015	May. 31, 2015	Jul. 31, 2014	Jan. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Aug. 31, 2013	Jul. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Goodwill								$ 356,864	$ 356,864	$ 354,838
Pro forma effect of business acquisition									The pro forma effect of the ongoing operations for Waters, MPE, the Malaysian sales and service distributor, ElectroForce, Medimass, ULSP, LaserComp, ESS, Nonlinear Dynamics and Scarabaeus, either individually or in the aggregate, as though these acquisitions had occurred at the beginning of the periods covered by this report was immaterial.
Acquisitions in 2015 [Member]
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Cash aquired								1,154	$ 1,154
Accounts receivable and other assets acquired								3,045	3,045
Inventory acquired								7,007	7,007
Property, plant and equipment acquired								3,985	3,985
Intangible assets acquired								5,920	5,920
Goodwill								7,498	7,498
Total assets acquired								28,609	28,609
Accrued expenses and other liabilities acquired								3,961	3,961
Net assets acquired								24,648	$ 24,648
MPE [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity	$ 12,000
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Goodwill	$ 6,000
MPE [Member] | Customer Lists
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets									2 years
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Intangible assets acquired, less than $1 million	less than $1 million
Malaysia sales and service distributor [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity								2,000
Malaysia sales and service distributor [Member] | Customer Lists
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets									10 years
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Intangible assets acquired								$ 2,000	$ 2,000
ElectroForce [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity		$ 9,000
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Intangible assets acquired		4,000
Goodwill		$ 1,000
ElectroForce [Member] | Customer Lists
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets									5 years
ElectroForce [Member] | Unpatented Technology
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets									10 years
Medimass [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity			$ 23,000
Recognized Identifiable Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]
Accrued contingent consideration			$ 3,000
ULSP [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity				$ 4,000
LaserComp [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity					$ 12,000
ESS [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity					$ 3,000
Nonlinear Dynamics [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity						$ 23,000
Scarabaeus [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash consideration paid for acquired entity							$ 4,000