You can use any drawing view as the basis for creating a section view.
A section view is a special type of projected view that you can create by using a section line to cut through the drawing view in order to reveal what is inside.
You can create an offset section view by offsetting (or bending) the cutting plane to show features that are not in a straight line.
For example, in the exercise file you can see several drawing views of a mechanical part. To create an offset section view through the part, on the Layout ribbon, in the Create View panel, use the Section tool. The Section tool generates a section view from any drawing view, and you can see in the tooltip that the actual command name is VIEWSECTION. When you click to expand the Section tool, however, there are actually five different choices. These are simply different types of section views you can create. You could also simply start the VIEWSECTION command and then choose the Type option, but preselecting the type by clicking the desired tool is much easier.
Click the Section View Offset tool. As soon as you do, the program prompts you to select the parent view. Click to select the top view. Then, the program prompts you to specify the start point for the section line. Since you want the section line to always align with the centerline of the large hole on the left side of the part, in the Status bar, make sure that Infer Constraints is toggled on. Remember that if you do not see this tool in the Status bar, you can expand the Customization menu, choose Infer Constraints, and then click in a blank area to close the menu. Then, turn on Infer Constraints. Also make sure that Polar Tracking, Object Snap Tracking, and Object Snap are active and click the arrow to the right of the Object Snap tool and make sure that Center is one of the running object snaps. Then, move the cursor over the top of the large hole until you see the center AutoSnap marker and tooltip, track to the left, and click to indicate the start point of the section line.
You immediately see an end direction arrow and section identifiers. The program then prompts you to specify the next point. Track to the right at a 0-degree angle and then click to pick a point just to the right of the large hole. AutoCAD then prompts you to specify the next point. Move the cursor over the smaller hole until you see the center AutoSnap marker and tooltip, track over to the left, and click. Again, the program prompts you to specify the next point. Track at a 0-degree angle and pick a point to the right of the part. Then, when AutoCAD prompts you again to specify the next point, press ENTER.
As soon as you do, a preview of the section view appears at the cursor and the ribbon changes to the Section View Creation contextual ribbon. You can use the tools in this ribbon to adjust various aspects of the section view you are creating. For example, you can use the tools in the Appearance panel to change the hidden line style, scale, and edge visibility. You can use the tools in the Annotation panel to control the section identifier and control whether a section view label is created, and whether the section includes hatching. Both the view label and hatching tools are toggles.
When you move the cursor to the right, the preview is constrained to move in a direction perpendicular to the section line. If you wish, you could tap the SHIFT key to relax this constraint. In this case, click to position the section view below the front view. You can still use the options or the tools in the ribbon to adjust the section view. Once you are satisfied, click OK or press ENTER to end the command.
AutoCAD immediately updates the view and the command ends. Once the section view has been created, you can modify it in a number of ways. In this case, select the section view label and move it up just a bit.
Once you have created a section view, you can use it as the parent view to create other projected views. When you click the Projected View tool, select the new section view as the parent view, and then create an isometric view, and the resulting view is a cutaway isometric view.
Source: Autodesk
