#126: Digital Product Series: iBase-t Solumina

Inside Solumina: The Digital Backbone for Aerospace & Defense ManufacturingWhat does it take to manage manufacturing where failure simply isn’t an option?In this episode of Stay Sharp in Digital Engineering, hosts Juliann Grant and Jonathan Scott continue their digital product series with Sung Kim, CTO of iBase-t, for a deep dive into the Solumina platform—a manufacturing operations management system designed specifically for complex, highly regulated industries like aerospace and defense.Unlike traditional manufacturing systems that simply record what happened, Solumina is designed to actively guide production processes, enforce quality requirements, and maintain full traceability across the product lifecycle. Sung explains how the platform connects engineering intent to shop floor execution, integrating capabilities like MES, embedded quality management, supplier quality, MRO, and model-based manufacturing into a unified operational data model.The conversation explores the architecture behind the platform—from early two-tier systems to today’s cloud-native, microservices-based infrastructure—and how Solumina enables organizations to scale across global manufacturing sites while maintaining compliance, security, and operational continuity.If you’re curious about how modern manufacturing systems evolve from systems of record into systems that guide what happens next, this episode delivers a rare look under the hood.What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeWhy MES alone isn’t enough for complex aerospace and defense manufacturingHow Solumin integrates MES, quality management, MRO, and supplier quality into one platformWhy a unified operational data model is critical for AI in manufacturingHow manufacturers integrate Solumina with PLM, ERP, and shop floor systemsWhat model-based manufacturing looks like in real-world productionWhy cloud-native architecture and microservices matter for manufacturing softwareHow digital systems help preserve institutional knowledge as experienced workers retireKey Topics DiscussedManufacturing Operations Management (MOM) platformsAerospace and defense manufacturing systemsDigital thread and model based enterpriseEmbedded quality management systems (EQMS)Supplier quality integrationMaintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) workflowsAI-driven manufacturing operationsCloud-native industrial software architectureAbout the Guest:Sung Kim is the Chief Technology Officer at iBase-t, where he leads the company’s long-term technology vision and product architecture for the Lumina manufacturing operations platform. With more than 20 years of experience as a technology architect and computer scientist, Sung focuses on building scalable, secure systems for complex, highly regulated manufacturing environments.Before joining iBase-t, Sung worked in telecommunications and academia, teaching undergraduate and graduate students while publishing research in leading international journals and conferences, including ACM and IEEE. His work today centers on advancing modern, cloud-native manufacturing platforms that connect engineering, production, quality, and maintenance across the digital thread.📩 Subscribe for more conversations on digital engineering and product innovation💬 Share your experiences or questions in the commentsMusic is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Story Blocks.Technical Podcast Support by Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.© 2026 Razorleaf Corp. All Rights Reserved.