Drive System for Automatic Welding Machine

A drive system for driving an automatic welding machine designed to join the edges of sealing sheets, the automatic welding machine comprising at least two pressing/advancing rollers located vertically opposite one another, an electric drive motor for at least one of the pressing/advancing rollers and a transmission gear mechanism connected downstream of the drive motor, an upper pressing/advancing roller being disposed rotatably about an upper roller rotational axis on a tensioning arm of the automatic welding machine and a lower pressing/advancing roller being disposed rotatably about a lower roller rotational axis on a frame of the automatic welding machine, the tensioning arm being mounted pivotably about a tensioning arm axis on the frame of the automatic welding machine, and the frame being supported by at least two drive rollers, the drive motor and the transmission gear mechanism being rigidly attached to the frame, the drive motor comprising a motor armature rotating about a protruding rotational shaft, and the transmission gear mechanism comprising a rotatable protruding input shaft and a rotatable protruding output shaft, and the tensioning arm axis, the roller rotational axis, the rotational shaft, the input shaft and the output shaft being disposed parallel to one another, wherein the rotational shaft of the motor armature and the output shaft of the transmission gear mechanism extend next to, and laterally offset from, one another, wherein at least the output shaft is disposed at the level of the tensioning arm axis of the tensioning arm.