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Insert Section View

In one sentence: Creates a cross-section view by cutting an existing view with a plane, exposing internal geometry with hatching on the cut faces.

Overview

Workbench: TechDraw
Menu: TechDraw → Views → Insert Section View

A section view reveals internal geometry (holes, bores, pockets) that would otherwise only be visible as hidden dashed lines. The cut faces are automatically hatched.

Step-by-step

  1. Select an existing view on the page (the parent view to cut).
  2. Choose TechDraw → Views → Insert Section View.
  3. In the task panel:
  4. Set the Cut Direction (normal to the cut plane).
  5. Position the cut plane by dragging the line on the parent view, or enter an exact offset value.
  6. Click OK. The section view appears, labelled automatically (A–A, B–B, …).

Properties

Property Description
BaseView The parent view that is cut
Normal Normal vector of the cutting plane
Origin A point on the cutting plane
Scale Independent scale for the section view
ShowCutSurface Show hatching on cut faces
CutSurfaceDisplay Hatching pattern or colour

Python API

import FreeCAD as App

doc = App.ActiveDocument
page = doc.getObject("Page")
front_view = doc.getObject("FrontView")

section = doc.addObject("TechDraw::DrawViewSection", "SectionA")
page.addView(section)
section.BaseView = front_view
section.SectionNormal = App.Vector(0, 1, 0)    # cut plane faces Y
section.SectionOrigin = App.Vector(0, 0, 0)
doc.recompute()

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Section view requires a parent view

Section View must be created from an existing parent view. You cannot apply a section cut to the 3-D model directly — create a standard view first, then cut it.

See also