Performance evaluation of laser surface alloyed hard nanostructured Al2O3-TiB2-TiN composite coatings with in-situ and ex-situ reinforcements

► Comparison of Al2O3-TiB2-TiN coatings produced by in-situ and ex-situ processes. ► In-situ process combines SHS and laser surface alloying. ► Ex-situ process based on laser surface alloying only. ► Of the two processes, In-situ process yields superior quality in coating.