Field noteOctober 12, 2026

Orbiter has a second generation

The Orbiter rig grew a new set of mechanics: two rotary drive modules on an aluminium frame, in the repo as STL, STEP and FreeCAD. Where to look and what is still v1.

Orbiter v2 — the aluminium tube frame with the azimuth drive module and platform on the left and the elevation drive module with the orbit arm on the right — Orbiter v2. Same two axes, new bones.

Our first project got its second generation. The Orbiter page now shows the v2 mechanics: two near-identical rotary drive modules on a 25 × 25 mm aluminium tube frame, each spindle in two ball bearings with a taper socket for the platform or the arm, and an AS5600 encoder on both axes. The interactive model, the renders of every printed part and the project gallery are all v2 now.

The design files are open, under CERN-OHL-S, in the public repo as STL, STEP and FreeCAD: cad/v2/. The drive module is meant to be taken out of the rig and used on its own. Model the matching taper into your own adapter, bolt on a NEMA 17, and you have a rotary axis with absolute feedback. The files ship with Orbiter v0.3, whose release notes cover the rest of that release: the native CV workbench for a binocular pair and the Stereo tab.

What this is and is not: the server and the firmware still describe the v1 rig, and the controller board for v2 is still being designed. The story of the modules, with the exploded view and a section through the drive, is in the project devlog: v2 mechanics: the drive modules are out.