There are several common shapes of load cells used as sensors, including shear beam, double-ended shear beam, compression, S-type, rope clamp, and loadpin shapes. Shear beam and double-ended shear beam load cells are straight blocks fixed at one or both ends to measure loads. Compression and S-type load cells are blocks designed to measure compression or both compression and tension loads. Rope clamps attach to ropes to measure tension and are popular for cranes due to easy installation.