Overview#
Principal views often cannot show everything. Fusion provides derived views that reveal internal features, magnify small areas, show true shape of inclined faces, and shorten long uniform parts:
- Section view: cuts the model along a line and shows the cut face, revealing interior features without hidden lines.
- Detail view: a magnified circular or rectangular region of a parent view, used for small features such as grooves, undercuts, and fillets.
- Auxiliary view: a projection perpendicular to an inclined edge, showing the true size and shape of an angled face.
- Break view: removes the middle of a long part and shows the ends, preserving the real dimension values.
All of these are children of a parent view, so they update when the parent or model changes.
Where to find it#
Drawing workspace toolbar, Create panel: Section View, Detail View, Auxiliary View, Break View, plus Breakout Section View and Crop View. Section, detail, and auxiliary views start by asking you to pick the parent view (a base, projected or, for sections and details, section view).
Section views#
Step by step#
- Choose Create > Section View and click a base, projected or section view as the parent.
- Click the start point of the section line, optionally click more points to add bends, then click the end point and press Enter.
- Click to place the section view. Its position is constrained to stay aligned with the parent; press Shift to toggle that constraint.
- In the Drawing View dialog set Style, Scale and Name (the identifier), the Edge Visibility options, Section Depth and Objects to Cut. Cut faces are hatched.
- Click OK.
Section variants#
| Type | Autodesk definition | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Full | Cutting plane passes through the entire view | Most common |
| Half | Cutting plane passes through a portion of the view | Symmetric parts |
| Offset | Cutting plane bends to reach features not on a straight line | Holes at different depths |
| Aligned | Cutting plane passes through the entire view along two non-parallel planes | Bolt-circle features |
Autodesk does not list separate buttons for these; the type follows from how you place the section line.
Hatching and cut components#
- Double-click the hatch to open the Hatch dialog: Pattern, Scale Factor, Angle and Color.
- Many drafting standards leave fasteners, shafts, ribs, and webs unhatched when cut along their axis (general drafting practice). Use the Objects to Cut list: an unchecked component is not cut and still displays as an uncut component. In the breakout section dialog, fasteners from the fastener libraries are unchecked by default.
Detail views#
Step by step#
- Choose Detail View and click the parent view.
- Click a point on the parent to place the center of the detail boundary, then drag outward to set the boundary size and identifier location, and click.
- Click to place the detail view on the sheet.
- In the Drawing View dialog set Style, Scale (for example 4:1) and Name, and the Edge Visibility options.
- Click OK.
Autodesk's help states a detail view can be generated from any base, projected or section view. The documented dialog has no boundary-shape or connector-line options.
Auxiliary views#
An auxiliary view looks perpendicular to an inclined face. Typical use: a bracket with a 30-degree wing where the true shape of the wing is needed for dimensioning.
- Choose Auxiliary View and click the parent view.
- Click the inclined edge in the parent view that sets the projection direction. The view will be projected perpendicular to that edge.
- Move the cursor away from the edge and click to place.
- Edit options in the dialog if needed, then press Enter or click OK. You may then crop or break the view, because an auxiliary view often shows unrelated geometry behind the face of interest (Crop View: a view can be cropped only once).
Break views#
Break views shorten a long part that has a constant cross-section.
- Choose Create > Break View and click a base, projected, or section view.
- Orientation (Horizontal or Vertical) is selected automatically from the view's length and height; set the Start Point and End Point, and optionally the Gap.
- Repeat for further breaks; longer break lines show more break symbols. Click OK.
- Dimensions measured across the break still show the true model dimension.
Options reference#
| Option | View type | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section line (with bend and end lines) | Section | Defines the cutting plane path | Extra clicks add bends |
| Direction arrow | Section | Viewing direction | |
| Name | Section, detail | Identifier of the view | Editable |
| Scale | Section, detail, auxiliary | View magnification | Derived views inherit from parent unless overridden |
| Style | All | From Parent, Visible Edges, Visible Edges and Hidden Edges, Shaded, Shaded with Hidden Edges | |
| Section Depth | Section | Full, Slice or Distance | |
| Objects to Cut | Section, breakout | Uncheck components to leave them uncut | |
| Hatch | Section, breakout | Pattern, Scale Factor, Angle, Color | Double-click the hatch |
| Orientation | Break | Horizontal or Vertical | Automatic from view shape |
| Start / End Point | Break | Where the removed region begins and ends | Place in uniform region |
| Gap | Break | Space between remaining pieces | Optional |
Tips and pitfalls#
Tip: Place the cutting line through the most informative features first, then add a second section only if needed. A single well-chosen offset section can replace several views.
Tip: Put a detail view near its parent and use a scale that is a clear multiple (2:1, 5:1, 10:1).
Warning: Do not break a view through a feature you need to dimension, such as a keyway or stepped diameter. Break only uniform sections.
Warning: Section views of assemblies hatch every cut body; if bolts are hatched, the print looks wrong to experienced readers. Consider showing fasteners uncut, or splitting the assembly drawing.
Warning: If you move a parent view, its section line and detail boundary move with it. Deleting the section line or the view deletes the other; deleting only the label leaves both on the sheet.
What Autodesk's help confirms#
The section view dialog, according to Autodesk's help, has these groups.
| Group | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Section Depth | Full, Slice, Distance (with Distance and Set Distance) | Full displays all geometry; Slice only geometry cut by the line; Distance geometry up to a set distance beyond it. An in-canvas slider previews the distance |
| Appearance | Style, Scale, Name | |
| Edge Visibility | Tangent, interference and thread edges | Same switches as a base view |
| Objects to Cut | A list of components with check boxes | Uncheck a component to leave it uncut |
The four section types (full, half, offset, aligned) are defined in the table above. Section views can be generated from a base, projected or another section view, and associativity is as described in the warning above.
Breakout Section View (Create > Breakout Section View) removes a defined area of material to expose interior features. You pick the view, click at least three points for a spline cut profile, then confirm with the check icon. Depth defaults to half the design depth (Distance extent type; Measure Half Depth restores the default) and isometric projected views inherit the cut.
For auxiliary views Autodesk's help gives the procedure as: choose Create > Auxiliary View, click an edge or line on the parent view, move the cursor away from the parent in the direction you want, click to place it, optionally change options in the dialog, then press Enter or click OK. The view is projected perpendicular to the picked edge, stays linked to its parent and inherits the parent's properties unless you override them; once you override a property, later changes to that property in the parent no longer carry over.
Break views, per Autodesk, apply to base, projected and section views. You set a vertical or horizontal orientation, start and end points and a gap size. A view may contain multiple breaks, projected child views inherit their parent's breaks, and on ASME drawings a dimension line that crosses a break gets a matching break symbol.
Worked example: a 300 mm shaft#
A shaft 300 mm long with 20 mm diameter, a keyway at one end and a thread at the other. At 1:1 on A4 landscape (usable about 277 mm wide) it does not fit; at 1:2 it fits but the keyway is only 4 mm long on paper. The efficient answer is to keep 1:1 and add a Break View with the break between 80 mm and 220 mm, gap about 10 mm. The overall length dimension still reads 300, because Fusion measures the model. Then add a section through the keyway at A-A with a 2:1 scale and a detail view B (5:1) of the thread runout. Three views, all legible, on one A4 sheet.
Failure modes and fixes#
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Section hatches the bolts | Fasteners are checked in Objects to Cut | Uncheck the fasteners (and shafts or ribs, per your standard) |
| Section shows more than expected behind the cut | Depth set to Full | Choose Slice or Distance |
| Section looks in the wrong direction | Section line drawn the other way | Delete and redo the section line in the opposite direction |
| Detail boundary covers too much | Boundary too large for the scale | Adjust the boundary and raise the scale to 5:1 |
| Auxiliary view shows extra unrelated geometry | Whole part projected | Use a detail-style crop or a break, and limit dimensions to the inclined face |
| Break cuts through a keyway | Break placed in a non-uniform region | Move the start and end points into a uniform stretch |
| Hatch looks wrong | Pattern or angle unsuitable | Double-click the hatch and change Pattern, Scale Factor, Angle or Color |
Workflow advice#
Decide the information a reader needs, then pick the view type. Interior hidden by faces: section. A feature too small to dimension at the sheet scale: detail. An inclined face whose true size matters: auxiliary. A part longer than the sheet: break. Create sections before dimensions, because dimensions attach to edges in views; a section placed late can make you re-dimension. Keep section labels sequential (A-A, B-B) and ensure every arrow has a matching view.
Use the Objects to Cut list intentionally on assemblies. A good print shows the housing hatched, the shaft left unhatched, and fasteners uncut. A detail view can be made from a section view, per Autodesk's help.
Practice exercise#
- Model a stepped shaft 300 mm long: 20 mm diameter, a 25 mm long, 6 mm wide keyway at one end, a 12 mm bore 80 mm deep, and a groove 3 mm wide at 200 mm.
- Place a Front base view at 1:1 on A3. Add a Break View between 80 and 220 mm with a 10 mm gap and check that the overall dimension would still read 300.
- Create a section A-A along the axis with Section Depth set to Full, then edit it to Slice and compare what is shown.
- Create a second section across the keyway at B-B at 2:1.
- Add a Detail view C of the groove at 5:1, then try a Breakout Section View on the bore.
- Model a separate bracket with a 30 degree inclined face and add an auxiliary view using Create > Auxiliary View by clicking the inclined edge; place it away from the parent and measure the true length of the face.
- Expected result: a broken shaft view, two labeled sections, a detail view, an auxiliary view showing the true size of the inclined face, and a written note of which depth option you chose and why.
Related#
- Base and projected views
- Dimensions and tolerances
- Sheets and exploded drawings