SAN FRANCISCO – It didn’t take much looking to realize what SemiCon West was missing this year: the equipment.

While exhibitor numbers appeared stable, companies opted for much less floor space than in years’ past, and left the gear at home. Indeed, the backend show (there’s concurrent front-end and backend shows; the front-end is much, much bigger, consuming the entire North and South Halls of the Moscone Convention Center) was compressed into two floors within the West Hall, making room for a solar exhibit on the third (top) floor.

The first floor, as usual, was busy. The second floor, not so much. The solar exhibits were busier, but some companies there crossed over into end-customer products such as roof panels, which was of little interest to the vast majority of people walking the floor.

Henkel has changed its sales structure in the wake of its acquisitions of Ablestik and Emerson & Cuming. The company, explains electronics global marketing manager Doug Dixon, is trying to maintain local decision-making, but the structure is now global. To that end, whereas each manufacturing site formerly reported to a country manager, the business unit now sets performance metrics. Product development will remain in Irvine, CA, Dixon reported, and the manufacturing footprint remains in review.

Dage revealed two advancements on the component test side. New software for its 4000HS permits greater bond-testing analysis and process control. Also, the other is a rising table that permits a BGA to be fixed so the balls can be sheared, pulled and so on during cold bump pull bond-testing.

ECT demonstrated a new feature of its Pogo test probes, Zip (Z Interconnect Pin) compliant contacts, which have planar contact surfaces and come in radial, flat and hybrid configurations. Radial uses traditional machined 3-D components, Flat uses 2-D components, and Hybrid combines both technologies – marrying a flat contact for the interface board with a radial contact for the device under test. CPG President Bud Fabian says the three probes are interchangeable in the same test tool, and come in 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0 mm test pitches.

Wire bonding equipment OEM Palomar Technologies was among those that opted not to bring equipment. The company is now one year into its subcontract work business, Palomar Microelectronics, and finding the market for such services healthy, with five to six customers per month.

Asymtek displayed a new jetting technology that features a heater inside the jet. The DispenseJet DJ-9500 pneumatic valve is for jetting underfill, or silicone for LEDs. The new jet is said to work better with multiple types of materials, and reduces operator variability by eliminating the air-adjustment controls.

Many placement companies, including Juki, Panasonic and Siemens, exhibited, but again, equipment wasn’t part of the package. On the other hand, BTU broke from the pack by displaying a Pyramax 75A, which debuted earlier this year.