Free Industrial Design Software Worth Trying

The free industrial design software a Nepali product business can use for commercial work is FreeCAD, Blender and LibreCAD. Tinkercad suits learning. Fusion for personal use, SketchUp Free and Onshape Free are free only for non-commercial projects. No software protects your design: that takes registration at the Department of Industry.

Key takeaways

• FreeCAD, Blender and LibreCAD allow commercial use; Fusion for personal use, SketchUp Free and Onshape Free do not.
• Onshape's terms make every Free plan document public, which is a real risk for a design you have not filed yet.
• A design file is not a right. Title comes from registration under the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 (Sec. 12 and Sec. 14).
• A registered design lasts five years and is renewable twice, so 15 years at most (Sec. 14A and Sec. 23B).
• Anyone may object within 35 days of a design's publication (Sec. 21A(2)), not the 90 days used for trademarks.

What counts as free industrial design software?

"Free" covers three different deals, and the difference matters once you sell the product: open-source software anyone may use and share, a free web app run under a company's terms, and a free plan of a paid product for non-commercial work.

Each claim below was checked on the maker's own site in October 2026. Terms change, so reread the licence before relying on a tool.

Is FreeCAD good for product design?

FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeller for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its site promises "no licensing fees, no vendor lock-in", and its code carries the GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1. Parametric means each dimension is a value you can change later, and the model updates around it.

That suits a product with exact sizes, such as a bottle cap or lamp housing. FreeCAD also turns a model into production drawings, exactly what a design filing needs. It handles exchange formats such as STEP, IGES, STL, DXF and SVG, so most fabricators can open your files.

Is Blender suitable for industrial design?

Blender is a free and open-source 3D suite released under the GNU General Public License and coordinated by the Blender Foundation. Its about page says you may use it "for any purpose, including commercially or for education". It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Blender shines at organic forms and realistic renders, such as a curved speaker shell. It is weaker at precise dimensions, so many designers model measured parts in FreeCAD and finish the look in Blender.

What is LibreCAD for?

LibreCAD is a free, open-source 2D CAD program for Windows, macOS and Linux, released under the GPLv2. It does no 3D modelling at all. Its strength is clean line drawings in DXF, a format laser-cutting and sheet-metal shops commonly accept.

A design filing needs flat views: a plan from above, an elevation from the front, and a side view. For a flat or folded object, such as a box or a metal bracket, LibreCAD may be the only tool required.

Which free plans are for personal use only?

Three well-known tools are free, but not for a business making goods to sell.

Autodesk Fusion for personal use is described by Autodesk as "for personal, non-commercial projects only" and "not for use in primary employment, company environments, or commercial training". Its 2D drawings and import/export file types are also limited.

SketchUp Free, from Trimble, runs in a web browser and exports SKP, PNG and STL files. SketchUp's help centre says plainly: "SketchUp Free is not for commercial use."

Onshape Free is offered "for non-commercial use" to "makers, hobbyists and those learning". Its terms carry a bigger catch, covered below.

Tinkercad is different again. Autodesk calls it "a free web app for 3D design, electronics, and coding", aimed mainly at learners. It is fine for a first prototype, but too simple for most filing drawings.

Why does a public design file put protection at risk?

Onshape's terms of use state that "all documents created by a Free Plan User" are made public. The same terms call that content "non-confidential" and grant other users a worldwide, royalty-free licence to it. So a chair modelled there is visible to strangers from the first sketch.

Tinkercad is different: once you publish a design, its special terms give every other user a perpetual licence to copy it and "create derivative works" from it.

Why care? Our advocate's note says the Department of Industry examines novelty and originality. The Act does not say exactly what an earlier public showing does to an application, but a design already online is easier to challenge. File first, show second.

The fix: model an unfiled design in a desktop program such as FreeCAD, which saves files on your own computer, and share drawings with a manufacturer only under a written confidentiality promise.

Here is an illustration, not a real case. A Pokhara potter sketches a new water-filter jar in Onshape Free, then learns every file there is public. She rebuilds the final model in FreeCAD, exports the three views, and files at the DoI before showing the jar at a trade fair.

What does an industrial design protect in Nepal?

The Act defines a design as "the form or shape of any material manufactured in any manner" (Sec. 2(b)). It protects how a product looks, not how it works (a patent question) or the name on it (a trademark).

Title to a design comes only "upon registration under Section 14" (Sec. 12(1)). After that, no one may copy or use the registered design without a transfer or your written permission (Sec. 12(2)). The Department can fine a person who breaks that rule and order the connected goods confiscated (Sec. 15). The guide to design rights in Nepal covers the scope.

What drawings does a design application need?

Sec. 13(1) asks for the application form "together with four copies of such design and maps, and drawings and particulars thereof". Our advocate's note adds the detail: the drawings should show a plan, elevation and side view.

This is where free software earns its keep: FreeCAD or LibreCAD can produce consistent, scaled views from one master model. A handle that changes between the plan and side view leaves your claim unclear.

What papers go with the drawings?

Alongside the form and drawings, our advocate's list includes the notarised originality statement and, when an agent files for you, a notarised power of attorney signed by the applicant and attested by two witnesses.

A foreign applicant claiming priority adds certified English copies of the earlier filing and of the home registration certificate. The design application process guide covers each paper.

How do you register a design you modelled yourself?

The DoI asks what the product looks like, not which program drew it. The route is the same for every tool.

1. Freeze the design. Choose the final version and save a dated master file. Do not post renders yet.
2. Check ownership. If a freelancer or studio did the modelling, get a signed written transfer before filing.
3. Export the views. Produce the plan, elevation and side view, and print four copies.
4. File at the DoI. Submit the form, drawings, originality statement and application fee (Sec. 13). Filing early matters, because the first-to-file principle generally applies.
5. Answer examination. Reply carefully if the Department asks for corrections.
6. Receive the certificate. On registration you pay the registration fee and receive the registration certificate in the Schedule 2(b) format (Sec. 14).
7. Watch the objection window. The design is published, and anyone may object within 35 days.

Our advocate's note places publication before the certificate; the Act and the Bulletin notice speak of registered designs. Either way, diary the 35 days. Our industrial design registration service handles each step.

When can someone object to a design?

Sec. 21A(1) requires the Department to publish registered designs "for the information of the public". Sec. 21A(2) then gives anyone with an objection 35 days from publication to complain. That 35-day period is the design rule; the 90-day opposition window belongs to trademarks.

The design notices appear in the Industrial Property Bulletin, in a section separate from the trademark entries. The July 2026 issue's notice cites Sec. 14 and Sec. 21A and invites complaints, with evidence, within 35 days. The guide to reading the Bulletin explains its layout.

One limit: IP Sewa's search covers the 71,500+ trademarks published across 123 Bulletin issues since 2006, not the design notices, so it cannot clear a product shape.

How long does design protection last?

A registered design is valid "for a period of five years from the date of registration" unless renewed (Sec. 14A). You renew within 35 days after the term expires; a further six months is allowed on payment of a fine, and after that the registration is cancelled automatically (Sec. 23B).

The renewable term is capped: Sec. 23B(3) allows a design to be renewed "not more than twice for a period of five years at a time", so 15 years is the most any design gets. The design renewal guide covers the filing.

The DoI publishes no standard processing time for designs, and the 12–14 month estimate often quoted was measured for trademarks. Ask us for a current view.

Does a foreign design registration cover Nepal?

No. A design registered abroad "shall not be valid in Nepal unless it is registered in Nepal" (Sec. 21B). The Department may register a foreign-registered design without further enquiries when the foreign certificate is enclosed, and it offers the facility of the Paris Convention to the holder (Sec. 21C).

There is no international shortcut: WIPO's Hague Agreement table, read on 17 October 2026, lists 85 members, and Nepal is not one. The article on Nepal and the Hague System explains what that means for foreign owners.

Who owns a design a freelancer modelled?

Paying for the work does not by itself make it yours. For the drawings, Nepal's copyright law treats the author as generally the first owner (Sec. 6(1) of the Copyright Act), and economic rights move by written agreement (Sec. 24(1)).

A registered design can be transferred, or its use permitted, in writing through a joint application to the Department (Sec. 21D). Simplest of all: take a signed written assignment from the freelancer before you file. See the copyright guide for designers.

Which other rights does the same product need?

One product can carry several rights: the shape is a design, the name a trademark, a new mechanism a patent.

For the brand name, run a free check on IP Sewa's trademark search or the trademark conflict checker, then consider a professional trademark search. If it works in a new way, see patent registration and design versus patent in Nepal.

Common mistakes with free design software

• Using a personal plan for a business: Fusion for personal use, SketchUp Free and Onshape Free all exclude commercial work.
• Modelling in public: Onshape Free documents are public from the start.
• Filing renders instead of views: a glossy render can hide the edges that define the shape.
• Using downloaded models: stock models and textures carry their own licences and may not be yours to register.
• Treating the file as protection: only registration under Sec. 14 gives title to a design.
• Diarying the wrong window: design objections run 35 days, not the 90 days used for trademarks.

In short

For a business, FreeCAD, Blender and LibreCAD are the free tools whose makers allow commercial use. Model privately, export matching plan, elevation and side views, and file at the DoI before the design is seen. The industrial design registration guide covers the full route.

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Ready to file? Read the Act on the Nepal Law Commission site or check the Department of Industry, then use our industrial design service or contact IP Sewa to plan your filing.