Patent ID: 7495192

Claim:
An arc welding apparatus comprising a single-electrode welding torch for using welding wire for welding, a single wire feeder supplied with a plurality of welding wires and having a plurality of wire driving means for driving said plurality of welding wires, and a welding controller for controlling operations of said welding torch and said wire feeder, said welding controller selectively operating any one of said plurality of wire driving means, feeding only a single welding wire by the selected wire driving means to said welding torch to perform arc welding; and wherein: each of said plurality of wire driving means includes a drive roller and a driven roller which are opposed to each other; each of said plurality of wire driving means grips a different welding wire between said drive roller and said driven roller; and said arc welding apparatus further comprises a single motor having a drive shaft which is selectively engaged with a rotational shaft supporting the drive roller of one of said plurality of wire driving means, thereby selectively operating said drive roller of one of said plurality of wire driving means while not operating any other said drive roller of any other of said wire driving means.