In this article, I am going to show you how to make the Y axis motor and bearing plates out of aluminum.

Start by attaching the motor/bearing plate templates to the four pieces of 5” x 4” stock.

Note that the stock I received was actually 5” x 4.0625”. This is OK, just align the top left with the top left of the stock, as shown here. The excess will just hang down off the bottom.

Use a punch to mark all the holes.

Drill all the holes. I did this by drilling out all the holes with a 5/16” drill bit. The eight mounting holes were then enlarged to 3/8”

Note that I did not drill the pilot hole for the cutout.

Use the pilot drill bit on the hole saw to drill the pilot hole on the main cutout.

This just makes using the hole saw much easier.

I clamped the stock in-place and started the cutting the hole with a 1-5/8” bi-metal hole saw.

Use some sort of lubrication to keep the aluminum chips from sticking to the saw. IT does not take much.

The completed cutout.

I used a deburring tool to remove all the burrs.

I like sanding my parts with some 220 grit sandpaper on a orbital sander. It gives the pieces a brushed look.

The motor mount installed on the rear of the frame.

The bearing mount installed on the front of the frame.

I little video I made showing the process.