Air drill or Second Z axis?

[Plyoboxwarehouse]

Hey guys, I'd like to get some input prior to submitting my order for a new PRS Alpha. I'm considering either an air drill or second Z axis. I do cabinet parts and quite a few MDF doors. At some point I want to upgrade to an ATC, but the extra $10k (factoring in the cost of a 4hp HSD spindle and air drill) is beyond what I am comfortable starting out with. With a second z axis I can route the center panel of single pass MDF doors and do perimeter cuts on multiple sheets without doing a manual tool change. On my cabinets, I can do perimeter cuts on the spindle and have the router on second Z axis with 5mm (spiral down cut?) to drill system holes, or use a bit with 1/8" pilot hole and countersink (I've seen these mounted into toolholders on big ATC machines with HSK63 holders).

Does this make sense? Or should I just order the one spindle and air drill? Due to the cost of spindles, I'd probably go with a PC router on second Z, if that's possible. Camaster has an upgrade called x3 that comes with a 5hp HSD spindle and two PC routers. I'd be doing something similar with a second Z axis, just with one spindle and one router.

Thank you in advance for your input.

[Kyle Stapleton]

You could get two air drills for the price of a 2nd z (the 2nd drill costs less because all you need is the drill and the other pneumatic cylinder).
Depending on how you make you cabs you could have a compression bit in the spindle, a 5mm for your hole system and an 1/8" for pre-drilling.