In an apparatus at a spinning preparation machine, especially a flat card, roller card or the like, a clothed, rapidly rotating roller is located opposite at least one component at a spacing. In order, by means that are simple and that save time, to make it possible to set a modified carding gap when components having different parameters (construction, properties) are replaced, the component has an electronic storage unit in which information relating to the nature of the component is arranged to be stored. A writing device for writing in the information and a reading device for reading out the information may be provided.