# Create Free-Body Sections

Right-click and select Create.
A dialog opens.
Name
The name of the FBD section group.
Select Node Path
Select a node path for the FBD section group.
Select Intersect Entity
Select elements of interest along the node path for the FBD section group. Cross-sections on the FBD Forces tool use all elements intersecting the plane. However, the Trace Plot tool allows you to specify what elements will be considered.
Number of cuts between nodes
Defines the amount of extra cross-sections between each pair of selected nodes.
Cutting plane definition
Defines the normal direction of all cross-sections created by the Trace Plot tool.
Direction
Available when the cutting plane definition is set to common direction. Defines a vector to be used as the normal direction for all cross-sections.
System definition
Defines the system used to evaluate results.
The Direction-Based option allows you to define coordinate systems at each node automatically. The selection box is used to define a vector in the XY plane. The system coordinate will be:
• X direction is defined automatically by the normal of each cross-section
• Z is defined by the vectorial product of X and the vector is defined by you
• Y direction is the vectorial product of Z and X

All FBD section groups display in the Model Browser.