CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 146,965	$ 108,974
Cost of revenue	84,806	62,880
Gross profit	62,159	46,094
Operating expenses:
Research and development and engineering	11,989	9,215
Selling, general and administrative	29,220	22,874
Amortization of purchased intangible assets	3,698	2,849
Restructuring, acquisition and divestiture related costs	25	817
Total operating expenses	44,932	35,755
Operating income	17,227	10,339
Interest income (expense), net	(2,358)	(1,328)
Foreign exchange transaction gains (losses), net	(407)	(1)
Other income (expense), net	(41)	(31)
Gain on acquisition of business		26,409
Income before income taxes	14,421	35,388
Income tax provision	1,584	1,114
Consolidated net income	12,837	34,274
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(926)	(22)
Net income attributable to Novanta Inc.	$ 11,911	$ 34,252
Earnings per common share attributable to Novanta Inc. (Note 4):
Basic	$ 0.19	$ 0.99
Diluted	$ 0.18	$ 0.98
Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic	34,887	34,765
Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted	35,428	35,125