<![CDATA[The Alumunium Titanium Nitrogen (AlTiN) coating is known as one of the best coating materials for protective coating, while Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) is a laser coating process used for electric layer and superconductor applications, producing thin films up to 20 µm in thickness. The combination of these two matters has already been researched and is still in progress. One major challenge in the aluminium casting industry is to minimize the damage caused to tool steel pins made from SKD61, when aluminium material sticks to the pin, and halting production. Therefore, research on effective coatings for tool steels and testing various basic mechanical properties, such as hardness, coating content, roughness, adhesive level, surface image, and microstructure, need to be conducted to address this issue. The research started by creating dummy blocks as samples from SKD61, followed by PVD-PLD with three coating materials, namely Al/Ti (50:50), Al/Ti (40:60), and Al/Ti (30:70). The PLD utilized an Nd:YAG laser with a 1064 nm wavelength, and a vacuum condition with 99.5% High Purity N2 gas, concluding with the annealing process. Several sample tests were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the coatings, including FESEM, SEM, EDS, surface roughness, VDI, and micro-hardness, which were analyzed at the BRIN Physics Research Center and PT XYZ Laboratory. The results indicated that the thin layer deposition improved mechanical properties. The coatings showed an amorphous Al-Ti-N morphology, with surface hardness ranging from 333-384 mHv (without annealing) and 410-455 mHv (with annealing). The roughness increased from 0.198-0.247 Rz (without annealing) to 0.318-0.916 Rz (with annealing). The coatings were ranked in ascending order of hardness as AlTi 40:60, AlTi 50:50, and AlTi 30:70. These findings provide valuable insights for further research, including exploring substrate heat treatment, fixture rotation, and casting effects.]]>
