How dows Covid 19 affect what you are doing with 3d printing?

I am just curious,

Nothing much. Since I’m retired I’m at home most days anyway, so Covid is a minor inconvenience.

And I see that I keep making typos.

Well, mid 2020 my local filament store was running out of filament. Prices for 1Kg PLA spools went up to 19 euro, while before they where at 11 euro.

The price recovered a bit as the production lines in China reopened. Currently a spool is about 16 Euro and ABS at 12 Euro.

So from a Price point COVID still has a huge impact on my personal resource management.

Beside that I designed ear savers with text and printed them for me and my family.

I didn’t have the advantage of knowing what the prices were pre-Covid, since I didn’t start printing until the beginning of June 2020.

I suspect more people are 3d printing for something to do when they aren’t working. But I don’t really know if I’m right.

Oh, for sure Covid has had an impact, I believe in 2 ways: 1) increased demand for printers & supplies, & 2) obstacles to production. I also think there are a couple of reasons for increased demand: 1) people wanting to occupy increased free time & 2) people wanting to help by producing PPE. I know printing PPE was a major reason I ordered a printer when I did, even though it turned out there was no demand for 3D printed PPE in my area.

PPE? I have no idea what you are referring to.

I believe filament prices have gone up since the Covid crisis.

PPE is medical protective equpment: face masks, face shields, ear savers, etc. In the early stages of Covid many people were 3D printing them for use by hospitals & clinics.

Sorry, forgot to mention that PPE is short for Personal Protective Equipment.

I’m always googling acronyms. That’s how people communicate nowadays. Usually I know what it means but don’t know what it really stands for.