Yeh, that's what I first thought... there really is nothing wrong with current retract manufacturing Co. out there... a simple air cylinder replacement sounds like the easiest and most economical solution. I'm really surprised ppl like Robart has not started selling their gear in electric versions... time will tell I guess.

I hope to find some time this week to tinker a bit with my 630 Robart air-retracts... have some ideas to prove out... and once I get these 630s mod'd, I'll try to post some details/pics.

Any one else looking to get involved in working out the CNC/manufacturing details?? [8D]
As a minimum, a clam-sheel style aluminum case for the motor would need to be designed... got some ideas to share but I'm not a big-time CAD guy...

p.s. I also need a little help with some other gear that is out there, which I don't have in hand to observe....
I'm curious in regards to the type of mechanics that is used which pulls/pushes the mechanism. My Robarts use a steel cylinder that rides along to CNC slots milled into the two sides of the mechanism, which in turn rotates/locks the gear up and down. The air cylinder's rod, that extends or retracts, is then attached to this steel cylinder (the rod threads into the steel cylinder... usually with red loctite to lock it in good). I'm curious is any one knows the thread/size of this controlling rod, as the electric retract mechanism will need to use the similar threaded rod (avoiding having to re-tap the steel control cylinder). If I have time,... I'll psot some oics of what I am talking about... The other option is to provide various cylinder of various sizes and various threaded holes for the threaded control rod... I'm certain these are probably model-specific...