I'm trying to put the following equation in determinant form: $12h^3 - 6ah^2 + ha^2 - V = 0$, where $h, a, V$ are variables (this is a volume for a pyramid frustum with $1:3$ slope, $h$ is the height and $a$ is the side of the base, $V$ is the volume).
The purpose of identifying the determinant is to construct a nomogram. I'm not sure if it actually can be placed in determinant form, and I'm curious if there is a Mathematica function that can do this? I've been trying a pen and pencil approach as listed here. But this approach has hopefully been automated.
Any tips are appreciated!