The Metal Artist's Answer: When Nylon Outperforms Steel
Where Metalwork Begins
Brett Hood’s journey into metalwork began with curiosity, not career plans. In 2017, he met a shipbuilder who had welded Navy vessels for decades. That encounter opened a door he never expected. Brett picked up a Lincoln TIG welder, taught himself the craft, and blended it with the artistic instincts he’d carried his whole life. What began as experimentation quickly became a passion: exploring new materials, new techniques, and new ways to push creativity beyond its limits.
The Problem That Asked for Innovation
As his skills grew, Brett ran into a limitation that many fabricators know well. Bead rolling was central to his work, but traditional steel dies left marks on softer metals like brass, aluminum, and copper. Buying custom Delrin dies wasn’t cost-effective, but machining his own wasn’t practical either. Early experiments with PLA failed outright, and other nylon filaments proved inconsistent, even after careful drying. Brett knew what he needed, but the right material seemed out of reach. That changed when he discovered Overture Easy Nylon.
From the first successful prints, it was clear this material was different. It printed cleanly, held its geometry, and delivered the strength and consistency his work demanded. For the first time, Brett could design custom tooling on his computer and trust that it would perform in the real world. What once felt like a compromise suddenly became an advantage.
Under Force: When Overture Easy Nylon Proved Itself
The real test came under extreme pressure.Brett designed a set of angled dies and printed them in Overture Easy Nylon, then placed them into a 20-ton hydraulic press with an 18-gauge steel panel between them. Instead of cracking or deforming, the nylon held. When he pulled the die off, the imprint was perfect — sharp, clean, precise. Something that had existed only in his imagination that morning had become a reliable tool by afternoon.
That moment reshaped Brett’s approach to fabrication. A material produced on a desktop printer had endured industrial force, earning its place alongside steel in his workflow.
Designing at the Speed of Real-World Making
The impact was immediate. Brett’s workflow collapsed from days to hours. With 3D printing — especially with the dependability of Overture Easy Nylon — Brett could now prototype and print usable parts the same day he designed them. His workflow became faster, smarter, and more agile. And in many ways, Brett’s journey mirrors a larger change happening in the industry. The advantages are unmistakable: lighter tools, quicker turnaround, lower cost, and almost unlimited customization.
In many ways, Brett’s experience reflects a broader shift in fabrication. Lighter tooling, faster iteration, lower costs, and near-limitless customization are changing how work gets done. For Brett, this wasn’t a passing trend. It was a fundamental transformation. 3D printing didn’t replace metalwork — it expanded what metalwork could be.
When Craftsmanship Inspires a Community
As Brett shared this fusion of metal and 3D printing with his 140,000 followers, the response was immediate. Traditional fabricators were surprised to see printed parts performing under real load. Makers were inspired by the speed and flexibility of the process. What they were witnessing was not a trend, but a shift. A future where tools are designed on demand, where iteration happens at the speed of ideas, and where innovation is limited less by equipment and more by imagination.
For Brett, the most rewarding moments aren’t tied to any single project. They happen each time a concept moves from design to reality, proving itself through use. Those moments reinforce his belief that progress comes from testing ideas honestly and trusting the process enough to push it further.
Creating What Comes Next
At its core, Brett’s approach is about learning through making. He treats every project as an opportunity to refine his process, challenge assumptions, and build tools that didn’t exist before. Carefully tuning print settings, testing materials under real conditions, and learning from each outcome are all part of the craft.
By combining hands-on fabrication with reliable, high-performance 3D printing, Brett demonstrates how modern makers can move faster without sacrificing quality. It’s a future where imagination and execution move side by side — and one that Overture is proud to support by giving creators the materials they need to build with confidence.
