XML 98 R84.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.3.1.900

Employee Savings Plan - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Match	50.00%
Minimum age to be eligible to defined contribution plan	21 years
Maximum contribution by company expressed as percentage of employee pre-tax salary	25.00%
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Employees' Gross Pay	6.00%
Company contributions vest at end of two years	20.00%
Company contributions vest at end of three years	40.00%
Company contributions vest at end of four years	60.00%
Company contributions vest at end of five years	100.00%
Company contributions to employee savings plan	$ 1,845	$ 1,555	$ 1,423

X

- Definition

Company contributions vest at end of five years.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cgnx_CompanyContributionsVestAtEndOfFiveYears
Namespace Prefix:	cgnx_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Company contributions vest at end of four years.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cgnx_CompanyContributionsVestAtEndOfFourYears
Namespace Prefix:	cgnx_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Company contributions vest at end of three years.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cgnx_CompanyContributionsVestAtEndOfThreeYears
Namespace Prefix:	cgnx_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Company contributions vest at end of two year.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cgnx_CompanyContributionsVestAtEndOfTwoYear
Namespace Prefix:	cgnx_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Minimum age to be eligible to defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cgnx_MinimumAgeToBeEligibleToDefinedContributionPlan
Namespace Prefix:	cgnx_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

X

- Definition

The amount of the cost recognized during the period for defined contribution plans.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 70
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49170846&loc=d3e28014-114942

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanCostRecognized
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage of employees' gross pay for which the employer contributes a matching contribution to a defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchingContributionPercent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage employer matches of the employee's percentage contribution matched.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchingContributionPercentOfMatch
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Maximum percentage of employee gross pay the employee may contribute to a defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanMaximumAnnualContributionsPerEmployeePercent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration