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Sherpa Mini vs Orbiter and other light extruders compared

The Sherpa Mini and the LDO Orbiter v2 both grip filament with two gears turned by a 36 mm NEMA 14 pancake motor. The Sherpa Mini is a printed extruder you build from Annex Engineering's files, geared 50:8 or 50:10; the LDO Orbiter v2 comes assembled with a 7.5:1 planetary gearbox at about 135 g.

Edited by 3D Printeray EditorsPublished Last verified 6 min read

In this section: Extruders(14)
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A filament drive of stacked clear acrylic plates with a black knurled thumbscrew, bolted to a black stepper motor that carries a small cooling fan on a metal bracket, with red, yellow and black wires, on a carpet
Photo: syvwlch, CC BY 2.0

The Sherpa Mini is an extruder you print from Annex Engineering’s free files and fit with Bondtech gears and a motor geared 50:8 or 50:10; the LDO Orbiter v2 comes assembled, with a 7.5:1 planetary gearbox, at about 135 g. Both grip 1.75 mm filament between two drive gears turned by a 36 mm NEMA 14 pancake motor. Annex publishes no Sherpa Mini weight, so the published figures cannot say which is lighter.

Sherpa Mini, Orbiter, Galileo 2, Clockwork 2, HGX Lite and BMG compared

Sorted by published weight, lightest first. The Bondtech BMG is weighed only without its motor, so it comes after them; the Galileo 2 and Clockwork 2 have no published weight. US prices before shipping on November 4, 2026 (* November 5). Other extruder types are in extruder upgrades.

Extruder Designer / maker Published weight Gear ratio Drive gears Motor License US price
HGX Lite None named; sold under several brands 125 to 155 g, by motor (KB-3D); about 76 g without (HTA3D) About 9.5:1 (sellers) Two large hardened gears, HRC 60 36 mm round, 10-tooth pinion, not included None published $27.99 without motor at KB-3D*
LDO Orbiter v2.0 Róbert Lőrincz (Orbiter Projects); made by LDO Motors About 135 g 7.5:1 planetary Two 12 mm hardened gears made by Bondtech LDO-36STH20-1004AHG NEMA 14 pancake, included Licensed to LDO, the only authorized maker Replaced by v2.5; upgrade kit $22.99 at West3D
LDO Orbiter v2.5 Same 135 g 7.5:1 planetary Two flat-bottom, RNC-coated HRC60+ gears on a knurled shaft Same, included Same $59.99 at Filastruder
Sherpa Mini Annex Engineering Not published by Annex; FYSETC’s nylon clone about 136 g, motor not stated 50:8 (6.25:1) or 50:10 (5:1) Bondtech RIDGA v2 or BMG gears, dual drive 36 mm NEMA 14 pancake, 8- or 10-tooth pinion, bought separately Source-available, non-commercial $51.13 for Bondtech’s set and an LDO motor, plus printed parts
Bondtech BMG Bondtech 75 g without motor; 99 g in Bondtech’s Gen2 chart 50:17 (sold as 3:1) Two 8.0 mm hardened, nickel-coated steel gears Any NEMA 17, not included Sold finished by Bondtech $74.99 without motor at West3D
Galileo 2 (G2E) JaredC01; official kits by LDO Not published 9:1 planetary One 16 mm RNC-coated gear against an idler bearing Custom 9-tooth NEMA 14 pancake, in LDO’s kit GPL-3.0 $45.99 at KB-3D, no printed parts, sold out*
Voron Clockwork 2 Voron Design Not published 50:10 (5:1) Bondtech BMG drive gear and idler gear, dual drive NEMA 14, 10-tooth pinion GPL-3.0 Self-sourced; Bondtech BMG Internals Set $34.99 at Filastruder

What is the difference between the Sherpa Mini and the Orbiter?

The Sherpa Mini is an extruder you build: Annex Engineering’s four printed parts, Bondtech dual drive gears and a NEMA 14 pancake motor geared 50:8 or 50:10. The Orbiter v2 is a finished extruder from LDO Motors with a 7.5:1 planetary gearbox, 12 mm dual drive gears and the motor included.

Sherpa Mini LDO Orbiter v2.0 and v2.5
How you get it Print four parts in ASA or PC; buy the rest from Annex’s BOM Buy it assembled
Housing Printed Molded, 30% glass-filled PA12
Klipper start rotation_distance: 22.67895 with gear_ratio: 50:8 rotation_distance: 4.69 (LDO: 4.637), no gear_ratio
Steps/mm at 16 microsteps About 881.9 (8-tooth) or 705.5 (10-tooth), derived 690
Run current 0.30 A RMS, 0.35 A at most 0.85 A RMS

The answer is the same for the Orbiter 2.0 and 2.5: the v2.5 changes only the drive gears and shaft. Full settings are on Sherpa Mini Klipper config and Orbiter extruder Klipper config.

Is the Sherpa Mini lighter than the Orbiter?

The published specs leave the question open. Annex Engineering publishes no weight for the Sherpa Mini, while the Orbiter v2.0 and v2.5 are listed at about 135 g. FYSETC lists its nylon-bodied clone at about 136 g, the only whole-extruder Sherpa Mini figure, but does not say whether that includes the motor.

What the published numbers do show:

  • The same motor class. West3D lists the Orbiter’s LDO-36STH20-1004AHG at 70 g. Annex’s bill of materials names the LDO-36STH17-1004AHG and also links LDO-36STH20 versions.
  • A light printed body. Annex’s four printed parts measure 11.09 cm³ in its STL files: about 11.9 g of ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) printed solid (derived at 1.07 g/cm³), less at Annex’s 40% minimum infill.
  • The gap. Bondtech’s gears, shafts, bearings and screws for the Sherpa Mini have no published weight, so no total exists to set against 135 g.

To compare, weigh your own builds. For a toolhead total, add the mount, fans, hotend and any sensor.

How does the Sherpa Mini compare with the BMG?

The Sherpa Mini uses Bondtech’s own gear parts, the BMG drive gears or the RIDGA v2, in a printed body with a 36 mm NEMA 14 motor geared 50:8 or 50:10. The Bondtech BMG is a finished laser-sintered nylon extruder, 75 g without motor, that drives the same style of gears from a NEMA 17 at 50:17.

Sherpa Mini Bondtech BMG LDO Orbiter v2.5
Motor NEMA 14 pancake, bought separately Any NEMA 17, not included LDO NEMA 14 pancake, included
Klipper start rotation_distance: 22.67895, gear_ratio: 50:8 rotation_distance: 22.679, gear_ratio: 50:17 (or 7.71 alone) rotation_distance: 4.69 alone
Steps/mm at 16 microsteps About 881.9 or 705.5 (derived) 415 690
Hotend Separate, fed by a PTFE tube Built-in groove mount for an E3D V6-type hotend Separate

The Sherpa Mini and the BMG share the 22.68 rotation distance because both turn Bondtech’s 5 mm-shaft drive gears; only gear_ratio differs. The Orbiter’s designer explains the higher gearing: a 36 mm NEMA 14 has about half a NEMA 17 pancake’s torque, so he aims for about 700 steps/mm on it and 400 on a NEMA 17. That is the Orbiter vs BMG split: 690 against 415.

How do the Galileo 2, Clockwork 2 and HGX Lite compare with the Sherpa Mini?

  • Voron Clockwork 2 is the Stealthburner toolhead’s stock printed extruder. It runs BMG drive and idler gears at 50:10, the ratio of a 10-tooth Sherpa Mini; Voron’s config starts it at rotation_distance: 22.6789511 and 0.5 A.
  • Galileo 2 is JaredC01’s 9:1 planetary design: one 16 mm drive gear presses the filament against an idler bearing, where the Sherpa Mini drives two gears. The G2E replaces the Clockwork 2 in a Stealthburner and starts at rotation_distance: 47.088, gear_ratio: 9:1 and 0.6 A.
  • HGX Lite is sold under several brands with no designer named. Sellers give about 9.5:1 but no steps/mm, so calibrate it from scratch.

Which of these extruders fits your printer?

  • On a Voron Stealthburner: the Clockwork 2 is stock and the Galileo 2 G2E replaces it directly. A Sherpa Mini needs a Mini Stealthburner remix such as JackJack3231’s MiniSB mounts. More in Voron.
  • On a Creality Ender 3: the Orbiter has printed mounts such as oldcrazyeye’s, and the Sherpa Mini has theFPVgeek’s. The rest is in adding direct drive to an Ender 3.
  • On a mount drawn for either: the Galileo 2 standalone (G2SA), still a public beta, takes Orbiter 2.0-style or Sherpa Mini-style mounts.
  • If you will sell the extruder or its parts: the Sherpa Mini needs Annex’s written permission. The Clockwork 2 and Galileo 2 are under the GPL-3.0 (GNU General Public License v3), which permits commercial use. The Orbiter is licensed to LDO alone; no HGX Lite seller publishes a license.
  • If you need it in stock: on November 4, 2026 the Orbiter v2.5 was in stock at Filastruder, Trianglelab and West3D. LDO’s complete Sherpa Mini was sold out at Filastruder with “no plans to restock”, so a Sherpa Mini now means printing parts and buying Bondtech’s set and a motor. KB-3D had the G2E sold out on November 5.

Sources

  1. Annex Engineering on GitHub, Sherpa Mini Extruder (README, Release 2) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  2. Annex Engineering on GitHub, Sherpa Mini Release 1 README (50:10 or 50:8 gearing) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  3. Annex Engineering, Sherpa Mini print settings and file key (accessed November 4, 2026)
  4. Annex Engineering, Sherpa Mini Release 2 STL files (printed-part volume and outline measured from these) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  5. Annex Engineering, BOM/Sourcing Guide (Extruders: Sherpa Mini - R2 and Sherpa Micro - R2 tabs) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  6. Annex Engineering, Sherpa Mini Klipper config block (accessed November 4, 2026)
  7. Annex Engineering, Hardware and Software EULA (accessed November 4, 2026)
  8. Annex Engineering User Mods, theFPVgeek Sherpa Mini Ender 3 mount (accessed November 4, 2026)
  9. Filastruder, Bondtech BMG Internals Set For Sherpa Mini (SKU: EXT-KIT-100) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  10. Filastruder, LDO Sherpa Mini Extruder (accessed November 4, 2026)
  11. West3D, LDO Nema14 36mm Pancake Stepper Motor LDO-36STH20-1004AHG (accessed November 4, 2026)
  12. Fabreeko, LDO LDO-36STH20-1004AHG(XH) 10t 8t 6t Stepper Motor (accessed November 4, 2026)
  13. FYSETC, Annex-Engineering Sherpa extruder (Sherpa Mini specifications) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  14. Prusament, ASA technical data sheet (density 1.07 g/cm³) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  15. JackJack3231 on GitHub, MiniSB Extruder Mounts (accessed November 4, 2026)
  16. Orbiter Projects, Orbiter v2.0 (accessed November 4, 2026)
  17. Orbiter Projects, Orbiter v2.5 (accessed November 4, 2026)
  18. Orbiter Projects, The true story of Orbiter v2.0 (accessed November 4, 2026)
  19. Orbiter Projects, Find an official Orbiter reseller (accessed November 4, 2026)
  20. LDO Motors, Orbiter v2.0 firmware configuration (PDF, rev. 031c) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  21. Fabreeko, LDO Orbiter 2.5 Extruder 1.75mm (accessed November 4, 2026)
  22. Filastruder, LDO Orbiter v2.5 (standard/mirrored) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  23. West3D, LDO Orbiter Extruder V2.5 (Orbiter V2.5 and V2.0 to V2.5 Upgrade Kit) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  24. Trianglelab, Orbiter Extruder V2.5 (accessed November 4, 2026)
  25. Printables, Orbiter v2.0 ender 3 (oldcrazyeye) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  26. Bondtech, BMG Extruder IDGA (Bondtech Mini Geared BMG Extruder for groove mount Hotends) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  27. Bondtech, BMG Extruder datasheet (PDF) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  28. Bondtech, Dual Drive Technology Gen2: Mini Drive Gears (with BMG comparison charts) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  29. Bondtech, BMG Internals Set for HextrudORT (accessed November 4, 2026)
  30. West3D, Bondtech BMG Extruder IDGA (accessed November 4, 2026)
  31. Filastruder, Bondtech BMG Internals Set - Standard & HextrudORT (accessed November 4, 2026)
  32. Klipper documentation, Rotation distance (gear_ratio) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  33. Voron Design on GitHub, Voron 2.4 Klipper config for the Octopus board (accessed November 4, 2026)
  34. Voron Design on GitHub, Stealthburner assembly manual (PDF) (accessed November 4, 2026)
  35. Voron Design on GitHub, Voron Stealthburner license (GPL-3.0) (accessed November 5, 2026)
  36. JaredC01 on GitHub, Galileo 2 (README: 9:1 gearing, Klipper settings, resellers) (accessed November 5, 2026)
  37. JaredC01 on GitHub, Galileo 2 Extruder (G2E) README (accessed November 5, 2026)
  38. JaredC01, Galileo 2 Extruder assembly manual, version 14MAY2024 (PDF) (accessed November 5, 2026)
  39. JaredC01 on GitHub, Galileo 2 license (GPL-3.0) (accessed November 5, 2026)
  40. KB-3D, LDO Motors Galileo 2 Extruder - G2E - For Voron (accessed November 5, 2026)
  41. KB-3D, HGX Lite Extruder - 1.75 - Multiple Colors (accessed November 5, 2026)
  42. HTA3D, HGX Lite 9.5:1 extruder without motor for 1.75 mm filament (accessed November 5, 2026)
  43. GNU Project, GNU General Public License v3.0 (accessed November 5, 2026)