Arc welding control method and arc welding apparatus

An arc welding apparatus which welds by generating an arc between a weld wire and a base material, comprising:

• a material setting section which sets a material of the weld wire or a material of the base material;
• a welding condition control section which outputs a signal for controlling a welding current and a welding speed at a welding start period, at a steady welding period after the welding start period and at a welding end period after the steady welding period in a time-series manner based on the material set by the material setting section;
• a switching element which controls the welding current;
• an output control section which controls the switching element based on the signal from the welding condition control section;
• a manipulator which holds a welding torch for supplying the weld wire;
• and
• a robot control section which controls an operation of the manipulator based on the signal from the condition control section so as to control the welding speed,
• wherein at the welding start period and the welding end period, the weld is carried out with a welding current and a welding speed which are different from those at the steady welding period according to the material of the weld wire or the material of the base material set by the material setting section.