Maker communities and the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of Thingiverse’s response to supply shortages

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected various aspects of daily life, particularly the supply and demand of essential goods, resulting in critical shortages. This included personal protective equipment for medical professionals and the general public. To address these shortages, online ‘maker communities’ emerged, aiming to develop and locally manufacture critical products. While some organized efforts existed, the majority of initiatives originated from individuals and groups on platforms like Thingiverse. This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of Thingiverse, one of the largest maker community websites, to examine the pandemic’s effects. Our findings reveal a surge in community output during the initial lockdown periods in major contributing nations (primarily those in the Western Hemisphere), followed by a subsequent decline. Additionally, throughout 2020, pandemic-related products dominated uploads and interactions during this period. Based on these observations, we propose recommendations to expedite the community’s ability to support local, national and international responses to future disasters.