The U.S. market for portable coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) is beginning to heat up.

Portable CMMs have traditionally been priced in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. But Faro Technologies Inc. (Lake Mary, FL), for one, is set to roll out a new product this fall that will push its portable CMM pricing for the first time below $20,000. Further, by some accounts, portable CMM prices are already being discounted industry-wide by as much as 25% to 30% below list, due to the stepped-up competition.