Patent ID: 7977604

Claim:
A welding system comprising: a housing; and a drive mechanism disposed within the housing and configured to advance a wire electrode substantially along a wire path into a welding torch, the drive mechanism comprising: a shaft driven by a motor; and a first drive roll coupled to the shaft and configured to rotate about an axis therewith, the first drive roll including a first portion, the first portion having a plurality of grooves configured to receive and advance the wire electrode, and a second portion opposite the first portion, the second portion having a plurality of recesses configured to selectively receive a locking member that extends radially from the shaft and is configured to transmit torque from the shaft to the drive roll during operation of the motor; wherein each of the plurality of grooves is associated with at least one recess of the plurality of recesses such that selective receipt of the locking member in a particular recess enables a groove associated with the particular recess to be substantially aligned with the wire path and to advance the wire electrode, and an axial distance along the axis between each groove and the at least one recess associated with the respective groove is substantially equal for each associated pair of grooves and recesses.