Educational Materials

The Right Materials and Resources to Inspire Learning

Metal for Schools, Universities, and Research Institutions

Trusted by hundreds of educational and research organizations nationwide, OnlineMetals makes it easy to source metals and plastics for labs, research projects, makerspaces, student competitions, and facility operations.

With no minimum order requirements, fast shipping, cut-to-size options, and support for purchase orders, procurement cards, and invoicing, we help simplify procurement so your team can focus on learning, research, and innovation.

Procurement & Vendor Documents

Download our W-9, payment information, and supplier setup forms.

Download Documents

Online Metals X Ballard Robotics

Fueling STEM Excellence: Partnering to provide industry-grade raw materials—aluminum, steel, and titanium—to empower the next generation of engineers.

Mechanical Engineering and Robotics

Most schools that are purchasing from us are from mechanical engineering or robotics programs. We have a large catalog of materials, alloys, tempers, shapes, and sizes to meet most needs – but if you don’t see something on our site that you want – contact us and we will hunt it down for you.

School Program Sponsorships

During the year we accept sponsorship requests that align with our mission to make metals accessible to everyone.

At the current time we are accepting sponsorship requests for the following only:

To learn more – please click here visit our sponsorships page

Shop By Category

Aluminum Protoboxes

Curated assortments of pre-cut aluminum stock in various shapes and sizes. Designed for rapid prototyping, machining practice, and shop testing without the need to purchase full-length material.

Stainless Steel Protoboxes

Handpicked collections of high-strength stainless steel stock. Ideal for testing high-stress mechanical parts, durable prototypes, and heavy-duty structural concepts.

Copper Protoboxes

Specialized material bundles containing diverse copper stock profiles. Perfect for prototyping electrical components, thermal management systems, and custom heat sinks on demand.

Aluminum Rectangle Bar

Versatile, flat aluminum bar stock featuring a high strength-to-weight ratio and outstanding machinability. Perfect for structural framing, mounting plates, brackets, and general fabrication.

Aluminum Round Bar

Solid cylindrical aluminum stock engineered for smooth lathe turning, drilling, and precision machining. Widely used for shafts, pins, bushings, and custom turned spacers.

Aluminum Sheet Plate

Flat-rolled aluminum stock offering lightweight durability, easy formability, and reliable corrosion resistance for body panels, electronic enclosures, baseplates, and structural gussets.

Aluminum Sample Packs

Multi-profile structural bundles containing various aluminum angles, channels, square tubes, and bars to help evaluate material options for custom builds and shop inventories.

Copper Rectangle Bar

Flat copper bar stock delivering maximum electrical and thermal conductivity. Ideal for custom bus bars, ground straps, heat sinks, and high-current power distribution systems.

Copper Round Bar

Solid round copper stock designed for high-conductivity electrical applications and precision turning into custom contacts, conductive shafts, and thermal pins.

Copper Sheet Plate

Flat-rolled copper stock offering exceptional formability and heat dissipation, commonly used for electrical ground planes, thermal shields, heat sink bases, and architectural accents.

Copper Sample pack

Assorted multi-shape copper bundles featuring rounds, flats, and hex profiles for testing conductive and thermal material requirements across diverse engineering projects.

Stainless Steel Rectangle Bar

Heavy-duty flat bar stock providing superior tensile strength, impact resistance, and corrosion protection for high-load structural brackets, machine bases, and heavy mechanical assemblies.

Stainless Steel Round Bar

Solid cylindrical stainless steel stock built for high-stress machining, lathe turning, and crafting durable drive shafts, axles, pins, and corrosion-resistant hardware.

Stainless Steel Sheet Plate

Rigid, high-strength flat stainless steel stock built to withstand extreme loads, impact, and harsh environments in heavy-duty structural panels, machinery guards, and industrial enclosures.

Stainless Steel Sample Pack

Assorted high-strength stainless steel shapes—including structural tubing, round stock, hex bars, and angles—built for testing rigid mechanical assemblies and structural frames.

Education Articles

Aluminum 6061 vs 7075
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7075 T6 vs T73: What's the Difference? Hero

7075 T6 vs T73: What's the Difference?
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Stainless Steel 304 vs 316
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FAQs

What are Proto Boxes, and how do they benefit learning environments?

Proto Boxes are curated assortments of metal stock—containing various shapes, sizes, and alloys—designed specifically for prototyping, machining practice, and testing. They are ideal for classroom shop settings, robotics pit kits, and design labs where students need immediate access to small pieces of material for quick iterations without buying full-length stock..

When should we use Aluminum for student projects or robotics builds?

Aluminum (such as 6061-T6 or 5052) is the go-to material for applications requiring high strength-to-weight ratios. It is lightweight, easy to machine, drill, and tap using standard shop tools, making it the industry standard for chassis frames, structural brackets, and high-speed mechanical components.

What makes Stainless Steel ideal for our builds?

Stainless Steel (such as 304 or 316) is selected for high-stress structural points, drive axles, fasteners, and environments requiring extreme durability or corrosion resistance. While harder to machine than aluminum, it provides maximum stiffness and impact resistance for heavy-load applications.

What are the best uses for Copper in educational applications?

Copper is essential for electrical, thermal, and heat-transfer projects. Its superior electrical conductivity makes it ideal for custom bus bars, ground straps, power distribution setups, and heat sinks in electronics and power systems engineering.

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