FARO Laser Tracker Price, Used FARO Laser Tracker for Sale, and Measurement Gear FAQs

I'm a quality manager at a metrology equipment distributor. I review every instrument before it ships—roughly 200 units a year. In 2024, I rejected about 7% of first deliveries. Most came back with a calibration certificate that didn't match the serial number, or a 'within tolerance' note that my own testing proved wrong.

This article answers the questions I get most often from buyers—especially the smaller shops that don't have a dedicated metrology engineer on staff. Some of these are about FARO laser trackers. A few are about other instruments that come up when people set up a measurement lab. All of them come from real conversations I've had in the last year. Jump straight to whatever question is on your mind.

How much does a FARO Vantage laser tracker cost?

Short answer: a new FARO Vantage will probably run you somewhere in the low six figures. A used FARO laser tracker for sale typically lands between $40,000 and $75,000, depending on age, included accessories, and calibration history.

Longer answer: the exact FARO Vantage laser tracker price moves a lot with configuration. Six degrees of freedom (6DoF), software licenses, training days, extra reflectors, a rugged transit case—each adds thousands. I have seen identical-looking systems quoted $30,000 apart because one quote included items the other left out. Comparing prices without a written list of what's included is basically guessing.

Honestly, I'm not sure why some sellers price used trackers the way they do. Same model, similar hours, one sits at $48,000 and another at $68,000. My best guess: calibration records and the original bundle matter more than sellers admit. A tracker with a recent certified calibration is worth real money, because calibration is expensive and time-consuming.

Is a used FARO laser tracker for sale a smart buy for a small shop?

It can be. In fact, it's one of the most realistic ways a small shop gets into laser tracking. That doesn't mean every deal is smart.

One client saved about $15,000 on a used tracker with 'no issues.' Three months later they spent roughly $9,000 on recalibration and a new battery, plus a week of rental to cover downtime. The real cost came from skipping the verification step. Today, our contract with that client requires calibration records before we accept any instrument—used or not.

When I compared a well-maintained used tracker against a new unit side by side, the measurement results were basically identical. Because the accuracy of a FARO laser tracker comes from its encoders, its distance measurement, and the calibration that ties them together. Age alone doesn't kill accuracy. Poor service history does. That's why ISO 10360-2 acceptance testing is the standard I always bring up: it gives you a pass/fail on actual performance rather than a seller's description.

Before you buy a used FARO laser tracker for sale, ask for the service log, ask for calibration reports, and set aside budget for post-purchase verification by an accredited lab. If the seller can't show records, assume the worst and price that into your offer. And if you're a small shop worried that vendors won't take you seriously? Don't be. The best-maintained trackers I've seen this year belong to a two-person aerospace contractor. Care is care.

What is a megger insulation tester?

Simple answer: it checks whether electrical insulation still insulates.

A megger insulation tester applies a high DC voltage—500V, 1000V, or more—between a conductor and its insulation, then measures the leakage current. The result is an insulation resistance value. If that value is low, moisture or damage has degraded the insulation and current can leak where it shouldn't. A failing motor winding or buried cable can shut down a line completely.

Why would a quality person care about this? Because insulation failure is one of those hidden causes of 'random' equipment faults. I've seen a machine trip twice a week for a month while everyone chased sensors. The motor cable insulation was breaking down under load. A quick megger test found it in ten minutes. We lost a week of production chasing the wrong problem.

One warning: don't buy a cheap insulation tester and assume it's fine. Like any measurement instrument, the tester itself needs verification. I've seen handheld testers read 20% high at 1000V. For safety-related testing, that's not 'close enough.' Period.

Does an ATM60 encoder have anything to do with laser tracker accuracy?

This is one of those odd questions that makes more sense than it first seems. The encoder ATM60 is a heavy-duty absolute rotary encoder used in industrial machinery, but the principle applies directly to laser trackers and portable CMM arms.

Every angular measurement a laser tracker makes depends on the encoders in its rotation axes. Same for a portable CMM arm at its joints. If an encoder drifts, or the coupling loosens, or the bearing introduces play, every measurement downstream—no matter how good the software—will be wrong. The confidence interval opens up, and you cannot close it with 'trust me.'

I've never fully understood why buyers obsess over the laser source in a tracker but ignore the encoders. The laser source might be expensive to replace, but the encoder is what tells you where the beam is pointing. In real terms: a tracker that's been dropped or run hard for years will show it in encoder accuracy first. When we troubleshoot a used tracker, encoder performance is the first thing we verify.

Is the Fluke 1775 power quality analyzer something a metrology lab actually needs?

Mostly, no. If your business is dimensional measurement, a power quality analyzer is not a standard lab instrument. To be fair, I know metrologists who have one and love it. That doesn't make it necessary.

Here's where it matters: power quality problems can make sensitive instruments act strange. Voltage sags and harmonics can cause a laser tracker or CMM controller to behave differently on a Tuesday afternoon than on a Monday morning. If you're chasing intermittent measurement drift and the usual fixes don't help, the Fluke 1775 power quality analyzer is designed for that: it logs voltage, current, power, harmonics, dips, swells, and transients over time. You leave it connected, walk away, and look at the data later.

So if you're a bigger facility with unexplained electronic gremlins, yes, it's useful. Small shop with no symptoms? Spend that money on calibration instead. That might sound strange from a guy who reviews instruments all day. It's not. Buy what solves your problem, not what looks good in a catalog.

What should a first-time buyer check before any portable measurement system?

I get this question a lot. Here's my short list, based on the instruments I review all year:

1. Calibration certificate that matches the instrument serial number and is still within its validity period.
2. Service history—not 'good condition' but what was repaired, when, and why.
3. The complete package: reflectors, tripods, controllers, software licenses, cases. Recreating a missing accessory kit can cost more than the tracker.
4. Training. A laser tracker is not plug-and-play. One day of proper orientation saves a week of frustration and a month of doubtful data.

And if the price surprises you—on either side—ask more questions. I've seen 'barely used' trackers with signs of hard service, and 'low hours' claims that were four times reality. A good calibration vendor can check that, and it's worth the cost before you hand over money.

Small doesn't mean unimportant. Some of the smartest purchases I've witnessed were $40,000 used trackers going to 10-person shops that used them better than billion-dollar companies. The equipment matters. The care around it matters more.