ADVANCED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO MANUFACTURE. COST ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES ARE USEFUL AS TOOLS FOR INCREASING COST EFFECTIVENESS IN PART DESIGN, IN SELECTING MATERIALS, AND IN THE DESIGN OF AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES. A COMPUTER-BASED COST ESTIMATION MODEL HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR ANALYZING THE MANUFACTURING COSTS INVOLVED IN THE FABRICATION OF THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE STRUCTURES. THE MODEL, DESCRIBED IN DETAIL IN THIS PAPER, EVALUATES EXISTING MANUAL AND AUTOMATED TECHNIQUES FOR MANUFACTURING A THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE SKIN. COST ANALYSIS RESULTS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO INCREASING COST EFFECTIVENESS ARE DISCUSSED.