Stepper motor drivers or Ardunio stepper motor drivers

[A_Camera]

Hi,
I'm new the cnc world and have decided to build my own laser cutter.
Having watched numerious how to videos on Youtube I've noticed that CNC Router builds tend to use dedicated stepper motor controllers with a hefty power supply whereas Laser cutters from what I can tell just use a cnc sheild that then has an A4988 Stepper Motor Driver plugged into it.
Would I be right in assuming that routers require more oomph hence the larger power supply and dedicated Stepper Motor Driver Board, or could the stepper motors for a router be powered/controlled by the A4988 Stepper Motor Driver plugged into the ardunio shield?
Would a laser cutter benefit from a dedicated Stepper Motor Driver Board?
What is the general concensus on such things
Rgds,
Stuart

The simple answer is no, but it depends on the size of the laser cutter. If you plan to use steppers which require more than 2A 36V then yes, you should go for different drivers, but if not then the A4988 (or similar) tiny drivers are excellent. On the other hand, you can still use the Arduino, the A4988 can easily be replaced with dedicated drivers, like the DQ542MA or something similar. You just need to wire STEP, DIR, EN and GND signals and of course, the power cables. You can run the Arduino from the ordinary power supply of 12 or 24V commonly used for these, and connect whatever power supply is needed for the steppers directly to the stepper drivers + / - connectors.