The most basic FEA element that only consist of line and points.
The most common type is Beam 3D (element type 12) that holds the Bernoulli Beam principal. This type of beam recognizes displacement and rotation in 3D space as (6 degree of freedom). This assumption allows observation of the 6 internal forces (axial forces, shear forces to weak and strong axis, bending moment to weak and strong axes, torsion).
For spaceframe or other tension/compression element Truss 3D (element type 11) can be used. Unlike beam 3D, Truss 3D does not recognize rotations. The elements are majorly subjected to axial force with negligible shearing/bending force.
For tieback cable, tensinet / tensegrity structure, Cable 3D (element type 13) is used to simulate the cable element. Cable 3D requires pre-tension force before running solver. Note that Cable 3D element is only effective with P-Delta, Nonlinear, or Tensegrity solver. It is not recommended to analyze cable using Linear Solver as it does not account the tensioning nature of cable material.
Others:
Tension Tie Rod (element type 1)
Compression Link (element type 2)
Linear Spring (element type 3)
