Number of contingent consideration payment annual installments.

No definition available.

Name:	novt_NumberOfContingentConsiderationAnnualInstallments
Namespace Prefix:	novt_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

For contingent consideration arrangements recognized in connection with a business combination, this element represents an estimate of the high-end of the potential range (undiscounted) of the consideration which may be paid.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationContingentConsiderationArrangementsRangeOfOutcomesValueHigh
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

For contingent consideration arrangements and indemnification assets recognized in connection with a business combination, this element represents an estimate of the low-end of the potential range (undiscounted) of the consideration which may be paid.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationContingentConsiderationArrangementsRangeOfOutcomesValueLow
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of liability recognized arising from contingent consideration in a business combination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 35
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116859824&loc=d3e6819-128478

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 25
-Paragraph 6
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911189&loc=d3e6408-128476

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationContingentConsiderationLiability
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=novt_ARGESGmbHMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=novt_IngeniaCATSLMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Fair Value Measurements - Business Combination Contingent Consideration - Additional Information (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) Installment	Dec. 31, 2019 EUR (€)	Jul. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2019 EUR (€)	Apr. 16, 2019 USD ($)	Apr. 16, 2019 EUR (€)
ARGES GmbH
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Undiscounted low range of contingent consideration				€ 0
Undiscounted high range of contingent consideration				10,000,000.0
Fair value of contingent consideration	$ 7,900	€ 7,000,000.0	$ 7,900	€ 7,100,000
Ingenia-CAT, S.L.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Undiscounted low range of contingent consideration						€ 0
Undiscounted high range of contingent consideration						8,000,000.0
Fair value of contingent consideration	$ 6,700	€ 5,900,000			$ 6,600	€ 5,800,000
Number of contingent consideration annual installments \| Installment	3