Interview with a veteran: A new chapter in the story of a "veteran" who revolutionized domestically produced X-ray diffractometers.
Introduction: At fifty, a touch of "technological purple" illuminates innovation. Listen to an industry veteran recount the breakthrough path and passionate dedication of domestically produced X-ray diffractometers.
As international market restrictions on high-end instruments gradually become apparent, a group of veterans with decades of experience in X-ray diffraction, driven by their passion and mission for domestically produced instruments, embarked on an entrepreneurial journey surrounding "Aeto."
Mr. Zhang Weixing, co-founder and CTO of Aeto Nanotechnology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., is one of the core driving forces behind this journey.
Recently, Instrument Information Network interviewed Mr. Zhang Weixing, listening to his story of struggle from the founding of IDONANO to product launch, from technological breakthroughs to market recognition, and his profound thoughts on the future of the industrialization of X-ray diffractometers (XRD) in China.
Born from "need," the name "IDONANO" carries the mission of microscopic exploration
"Our team has at least 20 years, and some have as many as 30 years, in the field of X-ray diffraction, and has a relatively deep understanding of the industry and the domestic XRD application field." Speaking of the initial motivation for founding Aidu Nano, the founder's words were full of industry insight. In recent years, high-end instruments have faced numerous restrictions in the international market, prompting them to develop a strong idea: China should possess its own high-end X-ray diffractometer products. Driven by the desire to seize market opportunities and contribute to the development of domestically produced instruments, ÅDO Nano was born.
The origin of the company name "ÅDO" also carries profound meaning.
"Å" is a tiny unit of length at the atomic and molecular scale, representing the exploration of the microscopic world;
"Degree" is a unit of measurement, symbolizing precision and standard. "We hope that the name 'Aidu' will embody the company's vision of creating high-performance instruments with ultimate precision in the field of micro-scale applications, allowing products to start from the smallest details and demonstrate quality through precision."
The road to entrepreneurship is never smooth. The founding of Aidu Nano was filled with challenges, but also unforgettable moments of brilliance. After finalizing the founding idea, the team's primary task was to explore the technical feasibility. The arrival of the pandemic unexpectedly created an opportunity for them to "quiet down."
"During that time, we couldn't do any outside work, so everyone stayed home setting up equipment and doing research and development, focusing wholeheartedly on advancing the feasibility development towards our goal," Mr. Zhang Weixing recalled. What impressed him most was the moment they successfully scanned the spectrum in their own lab—"When we saw the spectrum appear, everyone was incredibly excited, but because of the pandemic, we couldn't meet in person, so we could only share this joy in an online meeting."
It was this spectrum that convinced the team that they had successfully broken through the technological bottleneck and laid a crucial technological foundation for the development of Aidu Nano.
Aidu Nano's R&D team is conducting a technical discussion
Combining experience and innovation, achieving "latecomer advantage" with new technologies
After its establishment, Aidu Nano quickly devoted itself to product development and industrialization.
Although the team members all possessed extensive experience in X-ray diffraction, they had previously relied heavily on other companies' products and were unfamiliar with the productization process, essentially "feeling their way across the river by touching the stones." However, as their exploration deepened, the team discovered a solid foundation in domestic industry support, which broadened the path to productization.
"Our team's greatest strength lies in the combination of experience and innovation," Mr. Zhang Weixing explained. Facing challenges encountered during productization, the team overcame difficulties one by one, leveraging years of industry experience and innovative thinking, achieving productization in just over six months and rapidly iterating through the first and second generation products. "Chinese companies inherently have an advantage in terms of iteration speed, and we further enhance this by closely following market demands, constantly adapting our products to changing customer needs."
The Idu Nano team is sharing its technology externally
In the field of X-ray diffraction, Idu Nano's core competitiveness stems from the "complementary advantages of its three types of co-founders" and the "innovative application of new technologies."
As an expert with 30 years of industry experience and former head of technical services for a foreign company in China, Mr. Zhang Weixing represents the team's profound technical expertise. "We have a thorough understanding of the instrument's internal structure and technical principles, and know how to build high-performance products," he says. His colleagues also possess decades of rich experience in market operations and applications, ensuring that the products precisely meet the needs of domestic customers. Simultaneously, the team continuously attracts technical R&D talent, significantly improving R&D efficiency with the dual support of technical guidance and market orientation.
More importantly, Aidu Nano excels at using new technologies to achieve "latecomer advantage." "International giants are 'large and difficult to maneuver,' and their technological updates are relatively lagging; while some traditional domestic manufacturers also struggle to quickly break through old concepts," Mr. Zhang Weixing states. Aidu Nano, however, directly adopts the latest technologies, making it easier to achieve high precision and high performance, and also enabling independent innovation in data algorithms. "Currently, our algorithm performance is comparable to imported brands, and even surpasses them in some areas." This model of "independent innovation based on others' work" has allowed Aidu Nano to stand out from the competition.
**"Tech Purple" Matrix Covers All Scenarios, Solving Customer After-Sales Pain Points**
Today, Aidu Nano has formed a product matrix covering **high, medium, and low** levels. However, here, "level" does not refer to differences in quality, but rather to differences in the complexity of application. The **desktop (entry-level)** prioritizes ease of use and has low environmental requirements, requiring only a laboratory bench. While its functions are focused, its performance and algorithms are comparable to high-end models, meeting the testing needs of most customers in specific fields and avoiding the need for customers to pay for unnecessary features.
The **floor-standing (mid-range)** offers strong expandability, allowing customers to add or remove configurations to expand functionality based on future application directions.
The **high-end (flagship)** is currently under development and planned for release next year. Primarily targeting the semiconductor industry, it provides support for accurate measurement of key data such as lattice parameters and stress-strain, thanks to its superior monochromaticity and angular resolution.
It's worth mentioning that Aidu Nano's products use a highly recognizable "tech purple" as their main color. “In the past, instruments were mostly white or gray, giving a cold and hard feeling,” said Mr. Zhang Weixing. “Purple symbolizes mystery, romance, elegance, and also contains warmth; it's a combination of rationality and sensibility.”
They hope that through “Technological Purple,” they can showcase the high quality and high performance of the instruments in microscopic exploration, while breaking the coldness of the equipment and conveying the brand's enthusiasm to customers.
Eidon Nano N3 Series X-ray Diffractometer Products
With years of technical service experience, Mr. Zhang Weixing understands the pain points customers face in after-sales service for instruments—high after-sales costs and slow response times for imported products. Therefore, EduNano incorporated after-sales convenience into its product design from the very beginning. "Our products adopt a modular design to minimize on-site failures; even if a problem occurs, simply replacing the module allows for quick repairs, saving more time than troubleshooting and waiting for imported spare parts," Mr. Zhang Weixing emphasized. He added that domestic production significantly reduces module costs, and coupled with the team's rapid response speed, their after-sales advantages far surpass those of imported products.
More importantly, EduNano adheres to a "service-oriented" after-sales philosophy. "We don't treat after-sales service as a profit center, but rather hope to win market recognition through high-quality after-sales service. As long as after-sales service covers costs, that's sufficient; the core is to ensure that customers' work is not affected by equipment failures."
User Recognition Fuels Iteration, Over Half of Investment Focused on R&D
Currently, Aidon Nano's products have successfully entered research institutions such as Shenzhen University, Zhejiang University of Technology, Nanjing University, and the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with market feedback exceeding expectations.
"Customers say 'it's pretty good' after using it, and they no longer cling to the old notion that 'imported is better'," said Mr. Zhang Weixing. He explained that with the rise of domestically produced products in various fields, customer acceptance of domestically made instruments is constantly increasing. Furthermore, given that some sensitive institutions face import restrictions, Aidon Nano's products have precisely filled the relevant market gap.
What makes the Aidu Nano team gratified is that customers not only appreciate the product but also offer constructive suggestions for improvement. "They don't look down on us just because we're a startup; instead, they earnestly point out 'this can be changed,' 'that needs optimization,' and these suggestions from users provide crucial references for our product iterations."
Aidu Nano X-ray diffractometer installed and debugged in the user's laboratory
As a technology-driven startup, Aidu Nano allocates over 50% of its resources to R&D. "Besides purchasing essential production components, almost everything else is used for R&D," Mr. Zhang Weixing frankly stated. Although the product has been launched, the technically-minded team understands that perfecting a product cannot be achieved overnight.
"In the eyes of our technical staff, there is still room for improvement and transcendence in our products." It is this pursuit of technological excellence, coupled with rapid iteration driven by market demand, that makes high-intensity R&D investment inevitable.
Looking to the future, EduNano's R&D will focus on three main directions:
**First, industry-customized development:** Creating specialized and refined equipment for fields such as pharmaceuticals, new energy batteries, and semiconductors, achieving "one-click results" and lowering the barrier to entry for businesses;
**Second, software system optimization:** Enhancing the capabilities of data analysts, making it easy for ordinary people to operate;
**Third, AI technology integration:** The team has already begun exploring the use of AI for testing method recommendation and data analysis, helping customers obtain accurate results more efficiently.
5 years of laying a solid foundation, 10 years of creating international influence, upholding the original aspiration of "small but beautiful"
Regarding **Strategic Plan for the Next 5-10 Years:** The Aido Nano team has a clear blueprint:
**In the first 5 years:** Focus on iterating and optimizing existing products, improving stability and performance, while developing more accessories to expand functionality, and creating customized products for niche markets to further enhance software and data analysis capabilities.
**In the next 5-10 years:** The goal is to become an internationally influential brand, showcasing China's strength in X-ray diffraction to the world.
**Our goal is to be a 'small but beautiful' instrument company,” emphasized Mr. Zhang Weixing. He explained that X-ray diffractometers have a relatively narrow application area, making it difficult to be "large and comprehensive," but Aido Nano aims to specialize and refine its expertise in this niche market. "If people think of 'Aido is good' when they hear about X-ray diffractometers, we'll be satisfied."
Edon Nano X-ray Diffractometer Factory Installation and Commissioning
Regarding the current state of the X-ray diffraction instrument industry in China, Mr. Zhang Weixing stated frankly: "Most of the market is occupied by imported products, and there is huge room for domestic substitution." However, he also sees hope—Edon Nano's development is driving the progress of the domestic key component industry. "Previously, it wasn't that China couldn't produce high-quality components, but rather that there was no demand driving it; now, we set high requirements for domestic suppliers, and they can produce components comparable to imports. This not only benefits us but also paves the way for future industry competitors." Mr. Zhang Weixing predicts that as domestic components mature and more companies enter the market, the future market share of domestically produced instruments in the low-to-mid-range market is expected to exceed 50%. In his view, companies like IDU Nano bear two major responsibilities in the leap from "usable" to "easy to use," "durable," and "leading" domestically produced instruments: first, to promote the development of supporting industries and improve the industrial chain; and second, to enhance customers' confidence in domestically produced instruments, encouraging researchers to use them willingly and enthusiastically, thereby driving the growth of the entire domestic instrument industry.
**50+ Years Old "Veteran's" Perseverance: Seizing the Golden Opportunity for Domestic Instruments**
As entrepreneurs in their 50s and above, the IDU Nano founding team has a different approach than younger entrepreneurs: "We prioritize stability. We're not doing this to make quick money, but to realize a passion—to bring domestically produced X-ray diffractometers to international high standards." He frankly admits that many foreign X-ray diffractometer brands follow a "small but beautiful" development model, and IDU Nano hopes to continue down this path. "China is a crucial global market for X-ray diffractometers, yet it's dominated by foreign brands. We have a responsibility to build our own brand and seize market share."
"The opportunity now is incredibly rare—domestic market demand is strong, customer recognition is increasing, and policy support is robust. Coupled with our decades of experience and the energy to strive for excellence, there's no reason not to do this well." Mr. Zhang Weixing's words are full of confidence in the future of domestically produced instruments, showcasing the boundless potential of IDU Nano, under the "Technology Purple" banner, to write a new chapter for domestically produced X-ray diffractometers.
