One type of gage uses a cantilever beam as a sensing beam, while the other type uses a fixed beam. The preferred and most widely used normal force gage is the fixed beam type. The fixed beam gage uses four strategically placed miniature strain gages bonded to a fixed sensing beam and wired in a four arm Wheatstone bridge. They can be used to measure loose piece contacts as well as contacts which have been assembled into housings. In use, the Normal Force Gage is connected to a digital strain monitor for a direct readout of the normal force.
Normal force is measured by simply inserting the gage between two opposing contact beams.
The technicque of measuring thickness and diameter of dicing blade by precise capacitance probe and laser beam sensor, not reported previously, is highlighted in this paper. Thickness and diameter measurements provide the manufacturer with the information necessary to ensure that dicing blade is within customer specifications and have a good product quality. The measurement system must not only be able to produce a highly accurate reading, but also it should not contact the dicing blade. The general photo sensor or laser sensor can not be use in measuring the thickness of dicing blade mainly due to the fact that the measuring beams disperse from the irregular surface of diamond particle. The measuring system using a special laser beam sensor, which is not subject to a dispersion effect of measuring beam, is very expensive.