“When I was working in prototype development I had to use many different materials to create a single piece,” Beane explained in a 2012 interview with the now-defunct Humans Invent publication. “There were different materials for machining, sculpting, casting and polishing. I wanted one material that could do it all, including coating large foam structures. As I advanced in my career as a professional sculptor I needed a material that I could use from start to finish, instead of having to switch materials midsculpture to get the level of detail I desired in the finished piece. The limitations of clays, waxes and plastics led me to begin experimenting with formulations for a material with the properties I could envision.”
What you can do with it depends on its temperature. According to the company, 125°F is ideal for sculpting; heat it further and you can use it as paint. It doesn’t dry out or crack, so it can be reused by heating it again after it cools and hardens.
What does this have to do with 3D printing? A release date hasn’t been announced, but sometime this year Adam Beane Industries will be coming out with a Cx5 filament.
Not much detail has been provided yet regarding printing conditions or which printers will be compatible, but it looks like it’s going to be amazing. Design and print your model like you normally would, but after it prints you can reshape it, texture it, carve it and do everything else you could do with traditional clay.
3D printing is already capable of creating unique and intricate pieces, but Cx5 will add that handcrafted element that’s missing from most printed art. (For an idea of what printing with Cx5 will look like, take a look at the video below.) Is this a material you might want to try? Discuss in the Cx5 Sculptable 3D Printing filament forum over at 3DPB.com.
https://youtu.be/XXPrm0-0EV8