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It must be obvious to you but I can't figure out the name of that part which I need to replace. It's added to the bolts that hold the PCB to the case so as to create a large enough gap between the two. It's basically a metal cylinder.

enter image description here

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To me it seems a board spacer. – Bruno Ferreira Sep 12 '12 at 0:30
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Also called a standoff. Keystone Electronics: keyelco.com is my go-to outfit for stuff like this. – lyndon Sep 12 '12 at 0:33

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I've heard them called standoffs and spacers. McMaster-Carr seems to make the distinction between if they're threaded (standoffs) or not (spacers).

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This is an important, IMO, distinction to make. You use spacers to slide over bolts and separate two or more boards, whereas you'd use a standoff to thread into a hole and create a raised plane with which to secure a board. – Shamtam Sep 12 '12 at 5:10
@Shamtam, Some standoffs (the way McMaster defines them) have female threads at both ends. – The Photon Sep 12 '12 at 16:50
up vote 3 down vote

These are known as spacers, or stand-offs.

Don't bother using McMaster-Carr for these if you're outside the USA. Firstly their web site won't let you look at more than two pages. Secondly they won't do business with you because of the 'complexity of shipping internationally'.

You're much better off using someone like Farnell. They are happy to ship to loads of countries around the world.

Farnell Shipping countries

A spacer at Farnell.

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good point about international shipping. You can also find spacers and standoffs at most local hardware stores, though the selection and availability may be questionable. – helloworld922 Sep 12 '12 at 17:13

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