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It's common in electronics to use only screws to hold a box together, instead of having screw nuts at the other end of the box. There are raised supports which the screws are screwed into.

They look like screw anchors, but that means something different. In other languages (e.g. German) the word "dome" is used, but in English that means the small cover on top of the screw used to hide it.

Diagram of a cross-section of a box with a lid. The bottom has two molded-in posts (colored in green), and the lid has two screws lined up with the posts.

What are these things (painted green on the image) called? In the whole list of screw-related topics on Wikipedia, nothing similar turns up.

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    No doubt your question will be off-topic here as it relates to screws and not English but I would think they would still fall under the generic term 'screw posts' even though they are fabricated as part of the box and not as a separate item which goes through the box from both sides. Search for screw posts and maybe Chicago screws.
    – Frank
    Commented Jun 2, 2014 at 10:12
  • @Frank: I'm ready to accept "screw post" as an answer as I didn't find anything better.
    – vsz
    Commented Jun 2, 2014 at 10:28
  • On reading the @PrestonFitzgerald answer I actually quite like standoff . Although it looks like most references to built in standoff are for computers there appear to be no references for built in screw posts at all. There does seem to be an implicit meaning that standoff is to hold something at a specific level rather then just provide an anchor point for a shorter screw but with no references in a quick search I think a combination of screw post like a standoff might be the best term.
    – Frank
    Commented Jun 2, 2014 at 10:40

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I've seen the term mounting posts used to refer to the plastic posts inside of project boxes for electronic circuits. As well as being quite clear, it's the only term I've seen used, other than the words posts or standoffs.

However, there are quite a few terms that could be used (and I thought I'd seen one or another of these used in various project box articles, but haven't found any references):
• column, “A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it...”
• pillar, “A large post, often used as supporting architecture”
• piling, “A structural support comprised of a length of wood, steel, or other construction material”
• pier, “A rectangular pillar, or similar structure, that supports an arch, wall or roof”
• stanchion, “A vertical pole, post, or support”
• pylon, “A tower-like structure, usually one of a series” (and other senses, typically for items that taper to the top)
• turret, “...a little tower, frequently a merely ornamental structure at one of the corners...”; another sense, “a tower-like solder post on a turret board (a circuit board with posts instead of holes)” may be better known in this context.

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When in the context of computer motherboards (and I'm sure other similar applications) these are called "Stand-offs" as they are designed to stand the board off of the metal case to prevent unintentional shorts.

They also allow the motherboard to ground itself to the case, which means they serve a number of important functions.

Edit: ehrm. Upon re-reading this isn't exactly what you mean. Maybe "strut" would be a better, generic term.

enter image description here

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