Best Industrial Design Software in Africa
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Compare the Top Industrial Design Software in Africa as of January 2026
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What is Industrial Design Software in Africa?
Industrial design software is a suite of tools used by designers and engineers to create, prototype, and refine products that are manufactured at a large scale. These tools enable the development of detailed product designs, from conceptualization to final production, while considering factors like aesthetics, functionality, ergonomics, and manufacturability. Industrial design software often includes features for 3D modeling, CAD (Computer-Aided Design), simulation, and visualization, allowing designers to create realistic representations of their products and test them in virtual environments. These platforms also offer collaboration features that enable teams to work together on designs, share feedback, and iterate on ideas. With integrated tools for rendering, material selection, and assembly planning, industrial design software plays a critical role in improving product development cycles, reducing costs, and ensuring that products meet required standards and specifications. Compare and read user reviews of the best Industrial Design software in Africa currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.
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1
AutoCAD
Autodesk
Autodesk AutoCAD is the world’s leading 2D and 3D CAD software, trusted by millions of architects, engineers, and construction professionals. It provides precision tools to design, draft, and document complex projects across industries. The 2026 version introduces Autodesk AI, enabling automated drafting, smart block recognition, and real-time collaboration through Autodesk Docs. With customizable workspaces, AutoLISP automation, and access to over 1,000 apps, users can streamline every stage of their design workflow. AutoCAD also offers seven specialized industry toolsets that boost productivity by up to 63%, from architecture to electrical and mechanical design. Available on desktop, web, and mobile, AutoCAD empowers professionals to design anywhere with confidence and efficiency.Starting Price: $1,268 per user per year -
2
SimScale
SimScale
SimScale is a cloud-based web application that plays a key part in simulation software for many kinds of industries. The platform allows the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and Thermal Simulation. It also offers 3D simulation, continuous modeling, and motion & dynamic modeling. -
3
Solid Edge
Siemens
Solid Edge is a portfolio of affordable, easy to deploy, maintain, and use software tools that advance all aspects of the product development process – mechanical and electrical design, simulation, manufacturing, technical documentation, data management, and cloud-based collaboration. Developed on Siemens industry leading technologies, Solid Edge provides the most innovative and comprehensive approach to product development for the mainstream market.Starting Price: $75/month/user -
4
SketchBook
Autodesk
Use the digital drawing and painting app to render ideas and create illustrations. SketchBook drawing and painting software lets designers, architects, and concept artists sketch ideas quickly and create stunning illustrations. Professional drawing tools with a beautiful interface, ideal for those on the go. Designed for both stylus and touch input. With professional drawing tools and a beautiful interface, SketchBook offers a clean, uncluttered workspace for quick access to your tools whenever you need them. Get familiar tools in a digital space, including pencils, inks, markers, and over 190 customizable brushes that can incorporate textures and shapes. Professionals rely on SketchBook for its precision and speed, but mostly because it feels right. Import your SketchBook illustrations into Revit. Use your SketchBook file as an underlay, and build your model on top of the sketch. Use SketchBook to sketch ideas and iterate quickly. -
5
PowerMill
Autodesk
Fusion 360 with PowerMill® CAM software provides expert CNC programming strategies for complex 3- and 5-axis manufacturing. Now includes access to Fusion 360, Fusion 360 Team, and advanced manufacturing capabilities through Fusion 360 extensions. Access a vast library of strategies in PowerMill. Reduce programming times with rapid toolpath calculation. Simulate, verify, and optimize motion of CNC machines and industrial robots. Fusion 360 offers 3D modeling, generative design, simulation, electronics, collaboration, and more. Get modeling for manufacture tools to help prepare complex geometry for better CAM programming. Use simulation tools to improve plastic part designs and optimize the mold tools used to make them. This US manufacturer uses a combination of Autodesk Moldflow, PowerMill, and PowerShape in the design and manufacture of high-quality injection molds. -
6
CATIA
Dassault Systèmes
CATIA is the world's leading solution for product design and experience. It is used by leading organizations in multiple industries to develop the products we see and use in our everyday lives. CATIA delivers the unique ability not only to model any product, but to do so in the context of its real-life behavior: design in the age of experience. Systems architects, engineers, designers, construction professionals and all contributors can define, imagine and shape the connected world. A Social design environment built on a single source of truth and accessed through powerful 3D dashboards that drive business intelligence, real-time concurrent design and collaboration across all stakeholders including mobile workers. An Instinctive 3DEXPERIENCE for both experienced and occasional users with world-class 3D modeling and simulation capabilities that optimize the effectiveness of every user. An Inclusive product development platform that is easily integrated with existing processes & tools. -
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Autodesk Alias
Autodesk
Seamlessly collaborate across different workflows and personas. Increase productivity and eliminate the need to toggle between siloed systems. Use a single source for design from sketch through production surfacing. Create and reuse templates across design and surfacing teams—sharing surfacing language. Curve and Surface replace workflows with the History Visualizer tool, enabling automatic rebuild of geometry. Collaborate across teams and manage projects with a single suite of tools for faster decision-making. Allow Alias and non-Alias modelers to collaborate with Alias Assemblies and Master Alias Assembly Concept. Review design projects with Shotgun to keep creative teams focused.Starting Price: $585 per month -
8
The industry standard for creating custom materials, Adobe Substance 3D Designer gives you complete authoring control. Design tileable textures and patterns, and edit complete texture sets. Use pre-made resources or create materials from scratch in this non-destructive, node-based environment, and take advantage of Designer’s ever-expanding scripting capabilities. Want to change something or adjust the look of a material after the fact? Make changes at any time; never lose any of your work. Edit full sets of textures in real-time and produce tileable Substance materials and MDL materials that are will be directly compatible with your renderer or game engine. Combine a large number of preset filters and tools for procedural and hybrid workflows. Access and modify the sources of any resource or filter: you have absolute editing control. Our team develops and maintains integrations with all the major 3D apps.Starting Price: $19.90 per month
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9
Autodesk Vault
Autodesk
Get your data under control and streamline workflows with product data management software. Autodesk Vault product data management (PDM) software integrates with Autodesk design tools and other CAD systems to keep everyone working from a central source of organized data. Use Autodesk Vault to increase collaboration and streamline workflows across engineering, manufacturing, and extended teams. Quickly find and reuse design data and minimize rework and repetitive tasks. Accelerate workstreams in a system that brings together internal and external collaborators. Achieve faster response times and fewer errors with automation and data accessibility. Tools for administrators, including configurable email notifications, help drive greater organizational standards for data creation, review and release processes, and industry standards. Stay connected and productive wherever you need to work. Access Vault data securely without the need for a VPN connection using the Vault client.Starting Price: $840 per year -
10
PTC Windchill
PTC
PTC Windchill is a comprehensive product lifecycle management (PLM) platform designed to help manufacturers improve collaboration, data sharing, and quality control across global teams. It provides secure, role-based access to real-time product data, enabling streamlined product development and manufacturing processes. Windchill’s open architecture allows seamless integration with enterprise systems like SAP ERP, supporting a connected digital thread. The platform includes advanced features such as BOM management, engineering change control, manufacturing process management, and supply chain collaboration. Windchill leverages AI-driven insights and automation to enhance decision-making, reduce manual tasks, and accelerate innovation. Its flexible delivery options include on-premises and cloud deployment to fit diverse IT strategies. -
11
Siemens NX
Siemens
Siemens NX software is a flexible and powerful integrated solution that helps you deliver better products faster and more efficiently. NX delivers the next generation of design, simulation, and manufacturing solutions that enable companies to realize the value of the digital twin. Supporting every aspect of product development, from concept design through engineering and manufacturing, NX gives you an integrated toolset that coordinates disciplines, preserves data integrity and design intent, and streamlines the entire process. A generative design process is one that engineers can adopt to quickly develop new products based upon meeting design constraints. It is an iterative process that produces fast results the engineer can refine via constraint variation to narrow in on the best design to meet the requirements.Starting Price: $287 per month -
12
Ansys Discovery
Ansys
Ansys Discovery features the first simulation-driven design tool combining instant physics simulation, high-fidelity simulation and interactive geometry modeling in a single easy-to-use experience. By combining interactive modeling and multiple simulation capabilities in a first-of-its-kind product, Discovery allows you to answer critical design questions earlier in the design process. This upfront approach to simulation saves time and effort on prototyping as you explore multiple design concepts in real time with no need to wait for simulation results. Ansys Discovery answers critical design questions early in your process with speed and accuracy. Boost productivity and performance by eliminating long waits for simulation results. Discovery lets engineers focus on innovation and product performance. By answering critical design questions early in the process, thus decreasing engineer labor and physical prototyping costs, Ansys Discovery allows for a ROI boost across your organization. -
13
Shapr3D
Shapr3D
Shapr3D is an intuitive, cross-platform 3D modeling app for iPadOS and macOS that is compatible with all major desktop CAD software. You can import projects and export work directly to your rendering, manufacturing, drafting, or splicing tools. Shapr3D’s tech stack and software combine the industrial power of desktop CAD tools and intuitive user experience. Shapr3D users get battle-tested Siemens™ geometric Parasolid™ modeling kernel and D-Cubed™ sketch engine. CAD-compatibility with hi-res X_T, STEP, STL, OBJ, 2D DXF, 2D DWG, USDZ export support. SLDPRT, SLDASM, STL, STEP, IGES, X_T, 2D DWG, 2D DXF, JPG, PNG import support. Offline functionality and local storage with all officially supported Macs running on Big Sur (11.0) or later. A modeling experience designed for fluid mouse and keyboard input. Get tangible results with 2D Drawings: prepare your models’ technical drawings, and start prototyping right away.Starting Price: $25/month/user -
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Altair Inspire
Altair
Applied early in the product development lifecycle, Inspire accelerates the creation, optimization, and study of innovative, structurally efficient parts and assemblies through collaboration. Inspire's award winning user experience for geometry creation and modification can be learned in just a few hours, and delivers dependable Altair solver power. Structural analysis with the speed and accuracy of Altair® SimSolid®, as independently validated by NAFEMS, provides the ability to analyze large assemblies and complex parts. Dynamic motion simulation, including loads extraction, using the reliable multi-body systems analysis of Altair® MotionSolve®. The industry standard for structural efficiency, topology optimization by Altair® OptiStruct®, for the generative design of practical, viable, and manufacturable geometry. Inspire enables both simulation analysts and designers to perform what-if studies faster, easier, and above all earlier, encouraging collaboration. -
15
Creo
PTC
Imagine, design, create, and innovate your products better with Creo, 3D CAD/CAM/CAE software, and solutions for product design and development. Now, more than ever, product design and manufacturing teams are expected to create products more efficiently and cost effectively, without sacrificing innovation or quality. Fortunately, Creo delivers the most scalable range of 3D CAD product development packages and tools in today’s market. Creo 7.0 has breakthrough innovations in the areas of generative design, real-time simulation, multibody design, additive manufacturing, and others! Take your products from concept to digital prototype efficiently, precisely, and intuitively with Creo—on the cutting edge of CAD for more than 30 years. With Creo 7.0, PTC amply demonstrates its skill at adding compelling new features to an already robust tool-set using smart partnerships to extend its capabilities even further. -
16
Bechtle PLM
Bechtle PLM
Bechtle PLM is a comprehensive product-lifecycle-management solution and service concept that helps businesses accelerate their time-to-market by strengthening the network of individual business segments and optimizing how they work together. It goes beyond core PLM components of design, production, and replacement parts management by offering a holistic approach that considers the entire IT landscape, including hardware, infrastructure, software, business applications such as BI, CRM, ERP, CAD, PDM, CAM, DMS/ECM, and AI, to create an integrated, turnkey PLM environment. The solution supports all lifecycle phases from beginning-of-life (product and design development), through middle-of-life (supplier collaboration, warranty, and product information management), to end-of-life (recycling, disposal, remarketing) and enables parallel development stages, improved information quality, reduced reliance on physical prototypes, and faster response times.
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