Re: Non-Cnc Stepper Motor controller
Just to sort of summarize what others have said: From the "top" down there is:
1. User interface
2. Motion control
3. Driver
4. Motor
Mach3, TurboCNC, EMC2, etc... provide 1 and 2. User interface AND motion control.
Pronterface, G-CODE sender, etc... provide 1. User Interface, and work with RAMPS/Marlin, GRBL, etc... which provide 2. Motion Control
Or... you can write a custom program for an Arduino (not that hard) to provide the Motion Control and use a pushbutton switch as the "User Interface". That's probably the lowest cost option, but needs custom programming.
In any case, you need a driver to drive the motor. I, of course, recommend my own THB6064AH driver (see link in signature) but the Geckodrive unit is certainly more powerful (also more expensive). For GOD sake, do NOT buy one of those cheap drivers from China like the TB6560!
And... before you do any of that, figure out what MOTOR you need first! Based on the torque required to push the saw. There is a link to help you estimate the needed size of the motor / driver from my signature.
James hosts the single best wiki page about steppers for CNC hobbyists on the net:
http://www.piclist.com/techref/io/steppers.htm Disagree? Tell him what's missing! ,o)