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Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design
4/17/12 2:12 PM
17th April 2012
Adam Beane: Inventing Cx5 the sculptor’s material
By Nigel Brown
Tags » craft design environment innovation living people society technology
http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/6645/adam-beane-inventing-cx5-the-sculptors-material/
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Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design
4/17/12 2:19 PM
“
Home
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If everybody was pointing and talking as they
wandered round they would destroy it.
» ALL
JUST SHARP
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This is not a museum: Dennis Severs’ House
17.04.12
16.04.12
13.04.12
1
Master restorer
193
Simon Gillespie: Marrying 1
science and art
Sort By:
» NEWEST
MOST SHARED
MOST COMMENTS
Inside art forgery:
4072
From chemical testing to 7
infrared tech
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12.04.12
0
12.04.12
INGENIOUS
CONTROVERSIAL
SOCIETY
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» ALL
TECHNOLOGY
0
FEATURED
Adam Beane: Inventing
Cx5 the sculptor’s material
11.04.12
45
1
10.04.12
Thomas Vailly:
Human hair is the
material of the future
4
2253
7
Glasses free 3D: A
great British invention
0
980
7
06.04.12
05.04.12
0
Samuel
453
Zygmuntowicz: The rise of8
the master violin maker
PEOPLE
LIVING
BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT
RESEARCH
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Rise of the DIY
Valve Guitar Amp: A
scratchbuilt passion
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262
3
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David Sokosh:
Brooklyn’s vintage
watchmaker
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346
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Martin Messier:
632
Making music with Singer 4
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© 2012 REPUBLIC PUBLISHING LTD.
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337
Charlie Luxton’s carbon- 4
cutting scheme
30.03.12
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La Chambre des
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I hate perfume:
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Make me smell of England6
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21.03.12
894
Inside a bronze
foundry: Behind a 1000year-old craft
1
317
2
28.03.12
0
The Facebook
418
Poking Machine: A social 2
media invention
21.03.12
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Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design
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Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design
4/17/12 2:12 PM
Go to » What is Cx5? / The inspiration / The technique
S
culptor Adam Beane spent years crafting human
0
0
form before he became disillusioned with the
materials the world had to offer. Instead of moaning,
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Beane decided to invent something completely unique that
avoided all the common pitfalls of traditional sculpting materials such as clay,
wax and plastic. He calls his creation Cx5.
Cx5 is a sculpting material that handles like clay when warm, but is hard as
plastic when cool. Though neither a clay nor a wax it exhibits the best
properties of both. The results are truly staggering with Beane producing lifelike models of Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Matt Damon, and even Luke
http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/6645/adam-beane-inventing-cx5-the-sculptors-material/
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Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design
4/17/12 2:12 PM
Skywalker. In order to get to the bottom of exactly how CX5 is created,
Humans Invent sat down with Beane to find out the secrets to his new
invention.
Explain to us what Cx5 is?
Cx5 is a revolutionary sculpting material that is ideal for modeling,
machining, tooling, and casting. It’s the most versatile material I can think of
for making things, because while it behaves like a clay, a wax, and a plastic, it
eliminates many of the disadvantages of working in each of those materials.
Cx5 is a thermosensitive medium. In its warm state it handles like clay. At
room temperature it can be machined like plastic, and detailed and polished
like wax. It can even be brushed on like paint to virtually any surface when it
is melted.
Exactly how is it made?
The Cx5 formula is a trade secret, but I can say it is non-toxic, all-natural and
made of raw materials from environmentally sound sources. When I set out
to manufacture the material, two of my guiding principles were that it be
produced in the United States and that the manufacturing be
environmentally sound. I believe that we used to know how to make things in
this country, and a grassroots movement towards manufacturing our own
goods is the new economic engine we should be concentrating on. I also
believe in responsible sourcing; a great product can be made from raw
materials that have a low impact on the environment. I invented Cx5 to help
people create things. I don’t want it to be simultaneously destroying
something.
What inspired you to create Cx5?
I invented Cx5 because I was dissatisfied with currently available sculpting
and prototyping materials. When I was working in prototype development I
had to use many different materials to create a single piece. 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. Eventually
my hard work came to fruition, with Cx5.
Why is it better than say, clay or wax? Do you think it
will come to replace these materials in the future?
Almost all sculpture is an iterative process. Typically one begins a sculpture
in clay, makes an impression of it, in a process called waste molding, and
then casts it in wax for the final detailing. This is true in fine art, commercial
art, and in some areas of prototyping. Cx5 streamlines that process by taking
out all the intermediate steps. Because it handles like clay, wax, and plastic at
different temperatures, Cx5 allows a sculptor to do every stage of the
sculpting process in one material. Will it replace clay and wax? Certainly, for
the professional sculptor.
It confers so many advantages – it is durable, reusable, eternally reworkable,
and it eliminates the need for waste molds and multiple materials. That said, I
think there’s a place for all sculpting materials; for example Cx5 would never
replace clay in ceramics – if you put Cx5 in a kiln, it just melts – and there’s
nothing like the instant gratification of baking a small piece of jewelry made
of Sculpey. However, for anyone who wants to get rid of the waste mold
process and achieve very high levels of detail in their work, Cx5 will replace
their current materials, as it did for me.
How much does it cost?
http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/6645/adam-beane-inventing-cx5-the-sculptors-material/
Page 3 of 5
Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design
4/17/12 2:12 PM
Until we launch Cx5 I can’t disclose exact prices, but I can tell you that
sculptors who use Cx5 will find that in the course of the sculpting process
they save both money and significant amounts of time.
Have you always been known as a sculptor first and
foremost?
Though I am known for my sculpting, I would say I am an even split between
artist and inventor. I grew up in a family that was equal parts science and
art. Both of my parents were artists who went into science and medicine, and
until a chance encounter led me into sculpting I was pursuing a career in
science. Regardless of what fields I have been in, I have always thought as an
inventor. I am always interested in how things can be done cleaner and more
efficiently. In my experience, the best solutions are the most graceful ones.
Either having the fewest steps, or the least number of parts.
How long does each model take to make?
The length of time depends on the scope of the project. Some seemingly
simple projects can turn out to be very involved. For instance, the Steve Jobs
portrait was very difficult, as I had to portray a man who was sick, but not
sickly. And then sometimes a portrait will unexpectedly come together in a
matter of hours. It varies greatly.
What techniques do you use to get such fine detail?
Honestly, a lot of it has to do with working in Cx5. The level of detail I achieve
is a combination of being able to work in a material that allows me to cut,
scrape and polish as though it were plastic, as well as implement traditional
sculpting techniques without losing any detail as I move around the piece.
Also, the techniques I’ve developed as a self taught sculptor are unique to me
and this material. I’m beginning to share these in my sculpting tutorial video
series, because they’re very different from anything I’ve seen other sculptors
do.
Watch Adam Beane build a model of Matt Damon:
For more information go to www.adambeane.com
http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/6645/adam-beane-inventing-cx5-the-sculptors-material/
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Nigel Brown on 17th April 2012
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