Applications exist in research and development, laboratory, quality, production and field environment.
Force Gauges usually measure pressure in stress increments and other dependent human factors.
The same type of "weigh bar" can be used to measure horizontal loads and "drawbar pull" of wheeled/tracked or vehicles or "bollard pull" of boats or the "thrust" of jet engines when a proper "test rig" is designed and constructed to provide "frictionless" fore-aft movement of the load relative to the weigh bars.
So-called "strain gauges" which are also electrical "load cells" but which have internal mechanical components and/or combine the "scale head" and/or "power supply" into one unit and permit the use of relatively common, inexpensive and easily "serviced" vertical weigh bars and in a horizontal load situation in a "compact" and "cheap" alternative to the "frictionless" multi-cell custom-made "test rig" as well as those used in/on modern crane "lift computers" are often used as and referred to as "load cells" when in fact in every case the actual "load cell" is in and of itself "useless" without a "scale head" and properly engineered, designed and constructed "test rig" which allows it to convert "live loads" and a supply or "reference" voltage to varying output signal voltages as its "strained".
Load cells do NOT internally "generate" or otherwise "create" electrical "signals" are no "piezo-electric" devices and do not do anything but deflect and create varying voltage "signals" based upon electrical current supplied to them whether by a "display" or the scale head in actual operation or an analog volt-ohmmeter or digital multimeter when "bench tested" or otherwised demonstrated "operating" but not "in operation".