A surgical stapling assembly, comprising: a staple cartridge, comprising: a cartridge body, comprising: a proximal end; and a distal end; staples removably stored in said cartridge body; and a sled configured to eject said staples from said cartridge body, wherein said sled is movable between an unfired position in said proximal end of said cartridge body and a fired position in said distal end of said cartridge body; and an end effector, comprising: a staple cartridge support configured to receive said cartridge body at a proper insertion depth; and a sensor circuit including a microprocessor and an insertion height sensor (16080; 16080') positioned in said staple cartridge support, wherein said insertion height sensor is configured to detect whether said staple cartridge has been fully seated in said staple cartridge support, and wherein said sled is configured to contact said insertion height sensor when said staple cartridge is fully inserted into said staple cartridge support at said proper insertion depth; characterized in that the insertion height sensor comprises a first contact, a second contact, and a variable resistance element positioned intermediate said first contact and said second contact, and wherein said sled is configured to push said first contact toward said second contact and compress said resistive element when said staple cartridge is inserted into said staple cartridge support at said proper insertion depth; and wherein said variable resistance element is in communication with said microprocessor, and wherein the resistance of said variable resistance element is a function of the force applied to said variable resistance element by said first contact, and said microprocessor is configured to correlate the resistance of the resistive element with the height of the staple cartridge in the staple cartridge support. a staple cartridge, comprising: a cartridge body, comprising: a proximal end; and a distal end; staples removably stored in said cartridge body; and a sled configured to eject said staples from said cartridge body, wherein said sled is movable between an unfired position in said proximal end of said cartridge body and a fired position in said distal end of said cartridge body; and a cartridge body, comprising: a proximal end; and a distal end; a proximal end; and a distal end; staples removably stored in said cartridge body; and a sled configured to eject said staples from said cartridge body, wherein said sled is movable between an unfired position in said proximal end of said cartridge body and a fired position in said distal end of said cartridge body; and an end effector, comprising: a staple cartridge support configured to receive said cartridge body at a proper insertion depth; and a sensor circuit including a microprocessor and an insertion height sensor (16080; 16080') positioned in said staple cartridge support, wherein said insertion height sensor is configured to detect whether said staple cartridge has been fully seated in said staple cartridge support, and wherein said sled is configured to contact said insertion height sensor when said staple cartridge is fully inserted into said staple cartridge support at said proper insertion depth; characterized in that the insertion height sensor comprises a first contact, a second contact, and a variable resistance element positioned intermediate said first contact and said second contact, and wherein said sled is configured to push said first contact toward said second contact and compress said resistive element when said staple cartridge is inserted into said staple cartridge support at said proper insertion depth; and wherein said variable resistance element is in communication with said microprocessor, and wherein the resistance of said variable resistance element is a function of the force applied to said variable resistance element by said first contact, and said microprocessor is configured to correlate the resistance of the resistive element with the height of the staple cartridge in the staple cartridge support. a staple cartridge support configured to receive said cartridge body at a proper insertion depth; and a sensor circuit including a microprocessor and an insertion height sensor (16080; 16080') positioned in said staple cartridge support, wherein said insertion height sensor is configured to detect whether said staple cartridge has been fully seated in said staple cartridge support, and wherein said sled is configured to contact said insertion height sensor when said staple cartridge is fully inserted into said staple cartridge support at said proper insertion depth; characterized in that the insertion height sensor comprises a first contact, a second contact, and a variable resistance element positioned intermediate said first contact and said second contact, and wherein said sled is configured to push said first contact toward said second contact and compress said resistive element when said staple cartridge is inserted into said staple cartridge support at said proper insertion depth; and wherein said variable resistance element is in communication with said microprocessor, and wherein the resistance of said variable resistance element is a function of the force applied to said variable resistance element by said first contact, and said microprocessor is configured to correlate the resistance of the resistive element with the height of the staple cartridge in the staple cartridge support.