Press drive comprising two working areas

The invention relates to a press drive (16) for a press (10) or a press (10) having a press drive (16). The invention also relates to a method for controlling the press drive (16) by means of a control unit (40). The press drive (16) is used for moving a tappet (15) of the press in a stroke direction (H) between an upper return point (OT) and a lower return point (UT). It comprises a knee lever gear (24) having a first lever (24) and a second lever (26). A connecting rod engages on the knee lever (27) of the two levers (25, 26) and is connected on the other end (34) to an eccentric (35) of an eccentric drive (33). The control unit (40) can drive the eccentric drive (33) in a first operating mode (B1) or a second operating mode (B2) or a third operating mode (B3). In the first and the second operating modes (B1, B2) the eccentric oscillates in a respectively different angle region (W1, W2,) about a rotation axis (D) of the eccentric drive (33), thus resulting in different force and movement states of the tappet (15) in both operation modes.