Open Source Stepper Motor Controller Problem Statement

Problem Statement

To date, there is no open source variant of the respected Gecke G540 stepper motor controller. Smaller ones are available for RepRap, but is there an open source option that could be used on a larger device such as the Torch Table Build? The problem statement involves driving the cost of these stepper controllers down to about $10 or so per axis by the ability to mill them on a bootstrapping CNC Circuit Mill. Thus, the problem statement is threefold:

1. What is the best bootstrapping CNC circuit mill available that could produce not only the stepper motor controller but also the microcontroller (Arduino equivalent)?
2. What is the best open source stepper controller that can be used, and can it be adapted to higher voltage power supplies that would allow sufficient power to drive a torch table?
3. If the above is not possible, then we move on to an Open Source Stepper Motor Controller designed from the ground up

See Stepper Motor on Wikipedia for a high level description and a nice animation of how one works.

Requirements

Amperage: 1-2A
Response Time?
Step Increments?
Other factors?

Possible Solutions

A possible solution is to use an existing open source driver options and CNC mill to build them.:

1. http://reprap.org/wiki/StepperMotor#Stepper_drivers
2. Mantis 9 - appears to have a boot-strappable stepper controller and microcontroller design that could be made on this $100 mill. Good points - $20 spindle; $100 for everything. Modify this to metal for stability, and this would make a great universal bootstrapping circuit mill to last a lifetime.
3. SnapLock appears to be a robust bootstrapping mill, but cost is apparently $400-600?
4. MyDIYCNC - $580 for complete kit
5. RepRap Prusa Mendel - simplified version of RepRap Mendel. What's the cost for just circuit milling?