Would someone please help me understand? I am building my own CNC router, and have all the hardware. I bought Bobcad (with which I am not impressed). I also have a copy of mastercam, and have the trial version of Mach 2 and V-carve. The question is, what software allows me to define step, direction, and home? Do I need to design with one program, then actually control the machine with another? Or am I missing a step? Is there software that will allow me to design and control the steppers on my machine? I would appreciate any help. Thanks

Mach2 controls the machine. The other programs you listed create the g-code that you load into Mach2.